Issue 1633
Established: 1987
50p
May 11 2023
southwarknews.co.uk
millwall's Rollercoaster campaign ends in derailment Woman who held antigentification exhibition in her own flat takes battle to save her home to the top
taking council to high court See page 4
See page 30
See page 14
peckham doctor jailed in organ harvest plot
2 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Contents NEWS NEWS Pages Pages 2-17 2-17 OPINION OPINION Pages 18-19 Pages 18-19 Arts Arts20-21 Page Page 21 Family announcements Classified & Page 22 Family announcements Classified Page 22 Page 23 Public notices Public notices Pages 23-26 Pages 24-25 SPORT SPORT 27-32 Pages 26-32
Bermondsey scouts could be without a home as community hall is at risk of closure
By Isabel Ramirez
Its closure would also mean a local scouts group would have no home. Alice Nicholas, leader (pictured right) of 20th Bermondsey Scouts said this would be detrimental to the most vulnerable members - who could have to 'leave.' "It's the group closest to central London, so our kids come from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds," Alice said. "If the hall closes down there is nowhere else we could go that would be near central London, and the distance to travel for some of our scouts would be too great, and they would unfortunately have to leave scouting, which would be a great shame." And she added that if the hall remained open, there was a fear the alcohol licence might be taken away - which would limit the chances to rent out the hall losing vital revenue for the community. The News put this to the council, who said: "Magdalen Hall is one of very few TRA facilities which has a full bar and as such it requires licensing to trade in the normal way.” However, they failed to confirm whether there was any plan to ban licensing to TRA halls. Kyle commented that the hall was once a well-used and vibrant space, as well as a source of revenue to be put back into the
isabel@southwarknews.co.uk A Bermondsey-based community hall, which couples as the base of the local scouts' group, risks closure as all but one TRA member steps down.
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Magdalen Community Hall is currently run by residents of the Purbrook, St Saviours and Aylwin Estates - but it could face closure as most of the committee are due to step down from their posts. This will leave estate resident Kyle Simmons as the last remaining TRA member - of an association that covers 760 homes. And Kyle told the News of his concern that there hasn't yet been any sign of anyone stepping up. "If a new cohort is not elected, there will be no one to run the hall or TRA and the hall will have to close," he said. He is urging that the word be spread to save their hall, which he described as a 'beacon for the community.' "It's really important we keep it going," he explained. "Magdalen Hall has been a beacon for the community to resolve issues and make estate residents' voices heard to the council, so they see the policies have an impact on real people."
coronation special
Issue 1632
Editor: Kevin Quinn Reporters: Herbie Russell; Isabel Ramirez Sports Editor: John Kelly Sports reporter: Alex Jones Arts Correspondent: Michael Holland Digital Transformation Editor: Katherine Johnston Media Partnerships: Anthony Phillips Advertising: Clarry Frewin, Sophie Ali Design: Dan Martin, Hakob Muradyan Finance: Em Zeki - Tel: 0779 883 3758 Subscriptions/Announcements: Katie Boyd Managing & Commercial Director: Chris Mullany Managing & Editorial Director: Kevin Quinn Published weekly on a Thursday at: Unit A202, The Biscuit Factory, Drummond Road, Bermondsey, London SE16 4DG. News and Sport: 020 7231 5258 Advertising: 0792 203 4598 News: news@southwarknews.co.uk Advertising: ads@southwarknews.co.uk Finance: em@southwarknews.co.uk Printed by Iliffe Print. Tel: 01223 656500 www.iliffeprint.co.uk
Established: 1987
50p
May 4 2023
southwarknews.co.uk
see pages 10-15
coronation partY FeVer
southwark hails king
community. "A new committee could mean it's finally used to its full potential." Councillor Darren Merrill, the cabinet member for council housing, said: “The council supports the TRA elections, and the resident involvement team will actively work with residents to recruit and elect their own members to self-manage. Whilst the council is strictly neutral in relation to who gets elected, it remains supportive of the Magdalen Hall TRA and its ongoing work on behalf of local tenants and leaseholders. We sincerely hope that people will come forward as candidates to continue the great work Magdalen Hall TRA has done for its tenants to date." In the meantime, elections are fast approaching (May 31) and people are being encouraged to get their nominations in. There will be a meeting on Thursday, May 25 at Magdalen Hall for estate residents and those nearby where everything will be explained. Each nominee needs at least fifteen votes from people on the estate to be elected. All residents get one vote per position and there are eight to fill. Anyone wanting to know more about how to get involved may contact Kyle at kyle. simmons@hotmail.co.uk
The Southwark News is proud to be the only independent, paid for newspaper in London Southwark News started life as the Bermondsey News in 1987, as an A-4 photocopied sheet of paper and rapidly grew to cover the entire borough and the surrounding area. As the borough grew, so did the newspaper. It is owned and run by Chris Mullany and Kevin Quinn. Former reporters for Southwark News, they bought the title in 2002, after the founder Dave Clark died suddenly from cancer four years earlier. A dedicated team of staff work tirelessly to cover as much of what is going on as possible and strive to ensure that a community-led, independent newspaper can survive and excel in a market dominated by national and multinational media groups.
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Southwark News is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact 0207 231 5258. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
NEWS 3
proper blokes' photo finish
By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk A men-only walking group with hundreds of members is hosting a special exhibition at Millwall to mark three years since they began as just two blokes on a walk.
The Proper Blokes Club began when Bermondsey boy Scott Oughton-Johnson decided to confront his own mental health issues head-on after experiencing a difficult time. "I was in a custody battle for the best part of ten years when I separated from the mother of my children," he said. After having some therapy for anxiety and depression, the 36-year-old said he started walking around Southwark Park. Seeing how much better it made him feel, he said he was inspired to invite other men to a walk-and-talk group. "The first time only one lad showed up," Scott said. But word quickly spread and cut to nearly three years later, according to Scott, there are around 270 members. Although the more the merrier when it comes to people taking action with regard to their mental health, he said when it comes to their mission big groups can be counter-productive. "From an organisation perspective, we obviously want more people, but smaller groups are better
for getting people to chat and open up," he said. "So we do lots of walks in different areas - there are currently ten, mostly in south London." Although the group is meant for men, Scott said the biggest supporters are women. "Most of the time, men who come get encouraged to by their wives, mothers and girlfriends. We're grateful for that." To reach out to more men to get them talking, they are continuing their mission of spreading the word about men's mental health in general. On Friday, May 19 they are having a photo exhibition at Millwall Community Trust. "It'll be photos of some of the lads with a story beside them for people to come and read," he said. There's a photographer in the group who did all the photos and others who got involved in other parts. "Anyone is welcome, not just men. We are encouraging families to come too." "We're not professionals," Scott added, "but I hope through making safe spaces for men to speak we can slowly stop the stigma around mental health over generations." The exhibition is a drop-in from 6 pm-9 pm. You can book free tickets at eventbite The Bermondsey walk is currently every Thursday at 6:30 pm, from The Angel Pub, 101 Bermondsey Wall East, SE16 4NB. Go to theproperblokesclub.co.uk for more information or to find a walk near you.
4 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Aylesbury tenant set to fight for her home in the high court
Boy stabbed in Burgess Park
Watch the video
nline
By Herbie Russell
southwarknews.co.uk
herbie@southwarknews.co.uk A teenage boy has been stabbed in Burgess Park as police launch an urgent investigation.
Aysan Dennis (and right) the anti-gentrification exhibition she held in her flat
By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk A woman who refuses to leave her Aylesbury Estate flat is to battle Southwark Council and multibillion pound developer Notting Hill Genesis in the high court.
Sixty-four-year-old council tenant Aysan Dennis, who recently held a hugely popular anti-gentrification exhibition in her flat, believes the £1.5billion estate redevelopment has “destroyed the community”. Southwark Council is demolishing the 1970s estate in phases and replacing them with fewer social rent homes than existed before. Phase 2B, which contains Aysan’s home, is up next. In court, she will argue Southwark Council added an amendment to an older planning permission which has allowed the developer to veer away from what was first consented. This, she argues, renders previous consultations “meaningless” and could allow Notting Hill to build a huge 25-storey all-private tower on the site where her home now stands. By bringing the case to the high court, Aysan hopes to delay her home’s
demolition and "open the debate” about privately-backed regeneration projects. Having spent decades campaigning against demolition, she told the News she was “excited” to take on her adversaries in the high court. “I am actually excited. They are desperate to get their hands on Phase 2B but they have to pause [their plans] because of the court case which will prolong the process - so let’s see what happens,” she said. The Public Interest Law Centre, which represents Ms Dennis, said: “It is already difficult for communities to play a meaningful role in the planning process, and this is never more true than for a resident of a London estate which has been a target for demolition by councils and private developers over decades. “Developers should not be able to sidestep the findings of the Supreme Court in this manner. For the council to permit this is an affront to its public.” Aysan has applied for legal aid and hopes to crowdfund with help from the 700 people who attended her exhibition. The 2,758-flat Aylesbury Estate was completed in 1977 as part of a huge slum clearance, and Aysan moved in in 1993. She fell in love with her flat thanks to its bright airy feel and panoramic views
of London. But in the intervening years, the blocks were poorly maintained and, in 2005, Southwark Council decided to demolish and rebuild the estate. Campaigners have long argued that refurbishment was the better option and, in 2001, Aysan says 70 per cent of residents voted against demolition in a ballot. But she says this vote was ignored and demolition went ahead anyway. Aysan is also upset that the redeveloped site will contain fewer social rent homes than existed before. Phase 2B, which includes the Padbury, Wendover, Winslow and Ravenstone blocks, has 327 residential units of social rent tenure. If the current plans go ahead, they will be demolished and replaced with just 163 social rent units. Southwark Council Leader Kieron Williams said: “We’re working with residents on the Aylesbury to build new homes for them to move to, with more new council homes on site being built on the estate than on most others in the country, as well new housing association social rent homes too. “We’re building these replacements because the original homes on the estate were badly built in the '60s. All of the phases meet or exceed our planning policy
new building, and be part of a wider family of schools, while our mission, values and sense of community will remain the same,” Mr Huntley said. “The Charter Trust shares our values and is committed to the highest academic standards for pupils, enrichment and well-being." The long-awaited new school by the Bermondsey tube station will have modern classrooms, sports facilities, specialist performing arts areas, science labs and music rooms. The old school site will be demolished to accommodate developer Greystar’s regeneration of the Bermondsey area, which includes 1,548 new homes, public spaces and retail. Charter School Bermondsey will have
the same admission arrangements with applications made through Southwark Council. Compass School, which was founded by a varied group of trustees in 2013, is already a standalone academy trust. It will now join other Southwark schools already part of the trust, such as The Charter School East Dulwich, The Charter School North Dulwich and Charles Dickens Primary School in Borough. Academies are state-funded schools that are not controlled by the local authority, but instead by not-for-profit charitable trusts. They were first introduced under the 1997 to 2010 Labour government and have steadily expanded under successive coalition and Conservative governments.
requirement for half of the development to be affordable homes. We measure this by the total number of ‘habitable rooms’, because our residents need family-sized homes and councils that just count the number of homes end up with lots of one- and two-bed flats that are no good to families.” A Notting Hill Genesis spokesperson said: “We have been made aware today that proceedings have been issued in relation to Southwark’s recent approval of a Non-Material Amendment to the Aylesbury Outline Planning Permission. We are currently considering the documents that have been lodged with the High Court.” Addressing the distribution of housing on Phase 2B, they added: “We are very proud of our plans for phase 2B of the Aylesbury Estate regeneration project, which will be made up of five buildings delivering more than 600 new, high-quality, safe, energy efficient and warm homes to replace the existing homes which are no longer fit for purpose. Fifty per cent of these new homes will be affordable housing for people in need. We are committed to creating a fantastic, thriving mixed community with quality public space, top-class facilities and improved play and sport areas.”
Bermondsey's Compass School gears up for change
By Herbie Russell
herbie@southwarknews.co.uk Bermondsey’s Compass School will get a new name and move students into a "state-of-the art" building this September - as it joins a multi-academy trust.
The secondary school joins the Charter Schools Education Trust and will be renamed The Charter School Bermondsey. Principal Marcus Huntley said joining the multi-academy trust would help students to connect with pupils from other Southwark schools and improve professional development opportunities for staff. “We will have a new name, a fantastic
Police were called to Trafalgar Avenue, which runs through the park, at 8am on Tuesday, May 9, to reports of a stabbing. Officers and paramedics attended, discovering a sixteen-year-old boy suffering from knife injuries. He was rushed to a south London hospital where his condition was assessed as non-life-threatening. A local resident said a cordon was visible on one of the park paths off Wells Way which runs through the park on the opposite, western side. Police are yet to make any arrests and a crime scene remains in place. They are appealing for witness’s help. Anyone with information concerning the incident is asked to call police on 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting reference 1377/9MAY. Those wanting to stay 100% anonymous can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit Crimestoppers-uk.org.
Night of violence in the Elephant By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk A night of brutal violence has seen four people arrested, including at least two for attempted murder, in Elephant and Castle.
Three men sustained stab wounds, and one man suffered a possible head injury, in the early hours of Sunday, May 7. Police were first called to Elephant Road at 2.58am on Sunday morning following reports of stabbing. They rushed to the scene where they discovered a man with injuries to the neck and shoulder consistent with being stabbed. A second man was discovered suffering from a stab wound to the leg and a possible fractured eye socket. Paramedics rushed both men to hospital where their injuries were assessed as neither life-threatening nor life-changing. Police later received word that a third man had been stabbed and headed to Kennington Road - a fifteen-minute walk away from the scene of the first incident. On arrival, officers found a 23-year-old man being treated by paramedics for a stab wound injury to the arm. Police found a second man, who appeared to have sustained a possible head injury. Both men were later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Police have confirmed that, in total, four men have been arrested. Anyone who witnessed this incident or has footage is asked to call police on 101 or Tweet@MetCC quoting 959/07May. To remain 100 per cent anonymous call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit Crimestoppers-uk.org..
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Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Printworks ‘hopes to return' in three years Mega nightclub boss insists
Simeon Aldred Director of Strategy Broadwick Live
the local community will be considered in the comeback By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk The owner of Printworks, which has now closed ahead of development on the site, has said he "hopes" the venue will be back in three years, as he reveals the plans for the popular venue.
Their 'final dance' might have been on May 1st, but the Rotherhithe-based venue may not be saying a final goodbye just yet. Printworks was based at a former newspaper printing site that has been a nightclub for six years and was recently named the second-best music venue in the world, beating both Ushuaïa in Ibiza and Berghain in Berlin.
Although Printworks has gained a global reputation, its function as a music venue was always meant to be temporary. It sat within the multi-billion-pound Canada Water masterplan. "Although Printworks has closed for now, we have plans to stay in Rotherhithe and reopen soon," owner Simeon Aldred told the News last week. While the venue's closure comes as a result of development, Simeon explained that contrary to popular belief, the developer, in this case, is 'not the enemy.' "British Land have involved us with the plans the whole way through - they've been very supportive. As have Southwark Council. They are set on having culture as a part of the Canada
Water master plan. "It's not definite - as we are still in the planning stage - but we hope this will allow us to stay." Asked what is stopping them from opening sooner, Simeon replied: "It's not just the planning that has to be approved - the community around has to be on board with it." He said that the biggest thing for him was for residents to feel that this was a place for them too. "One of the first things we did when we moved to Southwark was go to all the housing associations and ask their opinion on what our plans were. "We told them what we were doing and they shared their views on what they did and didn't want to see - and we
reacted to that." Printworks had 600 members of staff not just because of the size of the venue. "It's because the community made it clear that after a show on a Saturday, they wanted to make sure the streets were cleaned straightaway," he said. "They also wanted free access to the shows. So in the last six years, we've given away 13,000 tickets for free to them. "You can't just plonk culture into an area and start making a profit without seeking permission. "Because it's gone so well, we don't really get many complaints. So it's most important to me to get their views. "I will go back into the community and ask them what they think."
Talking about the plans he said he hoped the 'new' Printworks would resemble more of a Southbank Centre or a Barbican in the range of shows they will offer - "whilst still keeping the essence of what people love. "We'll probably do less electronic music, and there will be more of a balance to appeal to different crowds more orchestras, the ballet, as well as the type of shows we are known for. The plans also include coffee shops that will be open seven days a week and for the building to be a lot more open. "Architecturally it will be similar," he added, "but what I'm not going to do is say it's going to be the exact same because if the community don't want that, it won't be," he added.
UK’s first Yoruba walking trails coming to Southwark
By Isabel Ramirez
isabel@southwarknews.co.uk An interactive walking trail that will tell the untold story of the Yoruba community and how they have contributed to the area is coming to Southwark - the first of its kind in the UK.
CultureTree Centre has received funding from the Mayor of London’s Untold Stories fund to develop Yoruba heritage walking trails and murals across the borough. The project will tell the story of the Yoruba community in Southwark - a largely untold history of how one of the three largest Nigerian ethnic groups has contributed to the area. In a UK first - there will be six interactive digital Yoruba heritage walking trails, an online oral history archive, a pop-up Yoruba community hub, and interactive wall murals across the borough of Southwark. Each trail and mural will have a QR code, taking visitors to an online oral history archive, where they can hear interviews linked to each stop on the route. This comes as part of the mission to establish Southwark’s first Yoruba community group made up of residents and business owners of Yoruba heritage in Southwark. They are looking for people who would be happy to share their experiences and stories about living and settling in the
borough, and how they have maintained and stayed in touch with their culture, roots and heritage in the UK. Their stories around family histories, food and migration will be used to develop the trails. Anyone interested in joining the group can sign up here. They will also produce a series of trail
guides to help people explore the rich history and heritage of the Yorubas in Southwark borough. The trail guides will cover a wide range of places, themes, and ideas of interest to tourists and locals alike. Each trail will contain a suggested walking route (or routes in some cases). It'll cover streets and buildings, legends, and true
stories, meet the locals, answer burning questions about Yoruba culture, and explore delicious Yoruba cuisine. CultureTree Centre is also partnering with The Tate Modern on the exhibition A World in Common, which celebrates the variety and depth of contemporary African photography. As part of this exhibition, members of
the Southwark Yoruba Community Group will be working with photographer Ruth Ossai to create a series of studio portraits. The murals will be done by muralist Polly Alakija. The funding is part of the £1m Untold Stories programme to champion diversity in the capital’s public spaces and ensure London’s landmarks and monuments reflect the achievements of all who have contributed to the success of our city. The grants offer Londoners the opportunity to develop ideas and share their stories which will be represented within the public realm. Gbemisola Isimi (CEO of CultureTree) said: "We are very happy and honoured to have been awarded this funding. It will help us in our efforts to celebrate Yoruba culture and raise awareness of Yoruba heritage and contributions to Southwark borough.” The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, established the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm to improve the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, women, LGBTQ+ communities and Deaf and disabled people and those from a range of socio-economic backgrounds in the public realm. Registration to join the Southwark Yoruba Community Group is open until May 12, 2023. For more information visit culturetree. co.uk/yoruba-community-group
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
NEWS 7
Two men rushed to Man accused of murder is hospital after drive-by alleged to have 'slashed three shooting in Peckham others' just days before in Brixton By Kevin Quinn
kevin@southwarknews.co.uk
By Kevin Quinn
Police are appealing for witnesses after two men were injured when moped-riding ‘suspects’ opened fire on them in a car on a residential street in Peckham, on Sunday evening, May 7.
kevin@southwarknews.co.uk A man from Vauxhall was due to appear before magistrates last Friday, May 5, accused of killing Johanita Dogbey and on the Saturday before the fatal stabbing allegedly slashing three other people in Brixton.
Johanita was attacked as she walked along Stockwell Park Walk in Brixton on Monday afternoon, May 1. Thirty-three-year-old Mohamed Nur of Bond Way, Vauxhall, was due to appear before Croydon Magistrates' Court last week on charges of murder and possession of an offensive weapon in relation to Johanita's killing. He has also been charged with a further count of possession of an offensive weapon and three counts of causing grievous bodily harm against two women and a man. The Met Police said two women and a man suffered slash injuries in separate attacks in Town Hall Parade, Brixton Road and Acre Lane during a one-hour period on Saturday, April 29. Flyer_A5.pdf
1
12/10/2021
22:35
Johanita Dogbey Last week Johanita’s family paid tribute to their "smart, dedicated and loving" daughter as they struggle to come to terms with
her death, in what police have previously said is thought to been a random attack on the 31-year-old charity worker.
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As the nation celebrated the King’s Coronation with street parties across the country, dramatic scenes unfolded on Lyndhurst Way, between Peckham Road and Chadwick Road, at around 6.13pm. Police are now appealing for witnesses and anyone with footage to contact them. So far descriptions of the suspects have not been released. Met Police have said the two victims were in a car when they were approached by two suspects on a moped, who fired at them. As they tried to escape, the victims' car flipped over as they crashed into another 'unoccupied car'. They said one of the victims was shot as he fled and tried to hide in a garden just over half a mile away in Ivanhoe Road. Police have confirmed to the News that the man who was shot and other victim, who lay injured in the car, are not believed have ‘life-threatening or life-changing’ conditions. A third person is also believed to have been in the car, whom police are now trying to trace. “We know that when this incident
happened there were members of public and vehicles driving nearby. Officers are keen to speak to anyone who witnessed the incident or who saw or heard anything suspicious at around that time,” Detective Inspector Mat Freeman said. “If you were driving in the area, did you record something on dashcam, or might you have captured something on your doorbell camera? Any piece of information, no matter how irrelevant it may seem, could be crucial in piecing together what took place,” he added. The Met Police statement read: “An investigation was launched after police were called at 18:13hrs on Sunday, 7 May by a member of public to reports that a firearm had been discharged in Lyndhurst Way, SE15. “Officers responded and identified two males. Initial enquiries have established that two victims were in a vehicle when they were approached by two suspects on a moped who fired at them. “The victims' vehicle overturned as they collided with another unoccupied car as they attempted to escape. One of the victims fled and was shot as he attempted to hide in a garden in Ivanhoe Road SE15. Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC giving the reference CAD 5646/07MAY23. Information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, online or by calling 0800 555 111.
8 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Mother’s desperate plea and renewal of £20,000 reward in bid to find killer of boy gunned down in Kennington
By Kevin Quinn
kevin@southwarknews.co.uk
Police were initially called at 6.05pm on Saturday May 5, 2018, to reports of gunshots heard on Cooks Road in Kennington. They discovered the teenager with critical injuries nearby on Warham Street and believe that he was shot just yards away. Police said they believe the budding rapper from the Brandon Estate was with a group of friends when he was shot on the corner of John Ruskin Street and Camberwell New Road. They said that the people who were there will have seen what happened, but nobody has come forward with information. Rhyhiem’s mother said today: “I am begging you to please, if you know anything about Rhyhiem’s death, come forward and speak to either the police or anonymously to Crimestoppers.”
Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton And police are renewing their appeals which includes a £20,000 reward from Crimestoppers - again urging anyone with information to get in touch, saying “it may be that allegiances or friendships have
changed, or you may want to do the right thing for Rhyhiem.” Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance went to the scene, but the teenager was
Photo from Met Police
The mum of seventeen-year-old Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton, who was gunned down in Kennington five years ago, has begged for help in catching those responsible.
pronounced dead just before 7pm. “We have endured five years without Rhyhiem and our family has been broken by his death,” his mother said. “Nothing can bring him back and we are still seeking justice for him. “My son died needlessly and I pray that no other family has to go through the pain of losing a child in such a way.” Police are particularly interested in a grey BMW Series 2 Gran Tourer with the registration WT17 CFK that was seen on CCTV around the time of the shooting. Officers are confident that this was the car that the suspects used to make their way to and from the area. The licence plates at the time of the murder were not real and the true registration should have been BP17 YVV. The car was stolen in Essex on December 23 2017. Its plates were later replaced. Two people, aged 17 and 20, were arrested on suspicion of murder in June 2018 but were later released under investigation. “With the passing of five years I am hoping that any witnesses, or those with any knowledge about Rhyhiem’s murder, may now feel that they can come forward and tell us who was responsible,” said Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn. “The years that have passed will have been long and traumatic for Rhyhiem’s loved ones and it is my hope that since the murder, people who did not feel they could come forward at the time, may now be in a position to speak to us. “It may be that allegiances or friendships have changed, or you may want to do the right thing for Rhyhiem, whatever the reason, if you have information that can identify those responsible please don’t hesitate to get in touch.” Appealing directly to Rhyhiem’s friends
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DCI Blackburn added: “I’m sure that people know who fired that fatal shot. Please give us the information we need to convict the people who killed your friend. “We know that this would be a brave move on your part and we are here to support you in any way we can.” Crimestoppers, a charity which is independent of the police, is offering up to £20,000 for anonymous information that leads to the conviction of those responsible for the murder. It’s regional London Manager Alexa Loukas said: “I speak for so many others when I express my deep sadness for Rhyhiem’s tragic death and that those responsible have yet to face up to the consequences of their actions. “So far, no one has come forward with information that can make a difference. “Crimestoppers is here to help make all our communities safe by giving people a way to speak up about crime, completely anonymously. “You can talk to us with no comeback. That means we never ask for, or store, any of your personal details. “Please speak up anonymously by either calling our UK Contact Centre on freephone 0800 555 111, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or use our website’s simple and secure anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. “We cannot trace your call or track your IP address and we never ask for or recorded any personal information from those who trust us with their crime information. “No one will ever know you contacted us. What you know, even if you think it’s insignificant, could make a difference.” Alternatively you can also speak to police officers direct on 0208 721 4005, call 101 or Tweet @MetCC.
10 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
a snapshot of how Southwark
Face painting and family fun day at Bermondsey baby bank
Rocking on the Brandon estate where they recreated the royal balcony
Simon Hughes joins residents at a street party in Elephant Lane, Rotherhithe
Despite the drizzle at the start of the celebrations for the crowning of King Charles III, here is a snapshot of how we marked the occasion - including one TRA who made their very own 'royal balcony.'
Rocking Royal Balcony at a Kennington estate To hail the new king, the Brandon Estate hosted a punk rock party with music, dancing and royal waves. Residents were treated to "fabulous" live music from the glam punk group, The Priscillas - who attracted fans from far and wide, including someone who flew in from
Union jacks were flying on UK's most patriotic estate - the Kirby in Bermondsey New Jersey to watch them play. Also rocking out in their Union Jack attire were mod rising stars, The Molotovs. The committee surprised guests with their royal balcony where the Mayor of Southwark made an appearance. Tom Lloyd, TRA chair of Brandon 2, said: "Someone sewed that together in 24 hours." "The event was absolutely
magnificent - we had about 500-600 people pass through. It just goes to show what a bit of investment in Maddock Way could do."
Family Fun Day at Bermondsey baby bank
Before heading off to the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle, Bermondsey's Kathy Heather hosted
a family fun day for locals. Outside her baby bank and food pantry in Slippers Place - which Kathy runs with other volunteers from Love North Southwark - there was a bouncy castle and face painting, along with a pie and mash stand. "It was lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves and getting ready for the coronation weekend," she said.
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
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NEWS 11
celebrated the King's Coronation
The Mayor of Southwark leads celebrations on the Kirby Estate
Mariachi madness on an Elephant and Castle estate
Coronation ready sevenyear-old Corinna
Maypole tea party in Gipsy Hill Union Jacks were flying high on the UK's 'most patriotic estate' In true flag-waving fashion, the Kirby Estate in Bermondsey didn't hold back for this national event - and hosted a party complete with 200 metres of bunting and 60 Union Jacks. The day before a mysterious travelling Jaguar wrapped in the Union Jack paid them a visit - providing the ultimate
photo opportunity. Chris Dowse, part of the TRA team who helped organise the event, said the day 'couldn't have gone better.' "Thankfully we decided to have the party on Sunday, which meant the weather was perfect," he said. "Our little estate community, family and friends came together to party and celebrate a new king for the first time in our lives."
Mariachi madness on an Elephant and Castle estate Dodson and Amigo Estate in Elephant and Castle celebrated the coronation with a party and treated guests to the sweet sounds of mariachi music. Cllr Maria Linforth-Hall joined in the fun and said: "It was a fantastic day. The mariachi band was brilliant."
Maypole Tea Party in Gipsy Hill MP Helen Hayes was among the cheery faces dancing around the Maypole at a tea party celebration at Christ Church in Gipsy Hill. The event kicked off with a screening of the coronation, followed by a sit down for 'copious amounts' of tea and cake. 'Miss Maypole', Donna Maria, said:
"It really was fantastic - everybody was in high spirits. All ages took part." "And then it was topped off with the big finale of everyone dancing around the Maypole," she continued, "It was a real moment for the community." More pictures can be found online at www.southwarknews.co.uk
12 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Headteacher jose says bittersweet farewell after 47 years at just one school
Camberwell House for families with sick children unveils major £600k refurb By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk A charity providing accommodation and support for the families of seriously ill children has unveiled a major refurbishment of its Camberwell location.
By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk A headteacher who has worked at a Bermondsey primary for 47 years has now retired - but says she won't be leaving for good just yet.
Last week, Jose Lewis, born and bred in Rotherhithe, retired as the head of the school she has spent most of her life in. "When I left teacher training, I ran a summer play centre here at Riverside. I taught at other schools but always kept the play centre going here. "Back then in the '70s, no one from this area trained to be teachers - so around the area, I was known as 'the teacher.' She explained that when her kids were old enough to go to school, she sent them to Riverside Primary. "But two weeks later, the headteacher at the time called me and said one of the teachers was unwell, so knowing I was a teacher, they asked me to take over. "I came in to cover them and I've never left since!" she said. The journey to being the headteacher came from working up the ranks in the school - which came naturally to her seeing that the school was one she knew well. In 1997 she became the co-head, and in 2014 she became the head on her own and has 'loved' every minute. "When everyone else is as outstanding as they are, my job is easy. They do all the work, and I take all the credit," she joked. "Lots of the parents were in my class, and some of the staff were here as children - so they know what I'm about and it just works." She said she'll miss it - but won't be leaving for good just yet. "I've been working on a new build in the school for over ten years so I have to see that through. "The plan is to have three new
classrooms, a new dining room and a new hall." During the pandemic, they faced a few problems - which Jose explained they managed to get through. "A big problem was technology, with schools moving online. "You can imagine, if you have five kids and the only thing you have in your house is your phone, that's a major problem. So we bought every child a laptop - and we've kept it up since because we see how it benefits them. "That was a big achievement." But she said her biggest achievement was running a school that everyone wants to come to. "That's not down to anything fancy - we are just trusted here. People know us and they know what they're going to get when they send their child here. "We were the first Southwark school
to be in the top ten per cent of schools nationally - that was a proud moment." How does she plan on spending her retirement? - "Going to see my two favourite things: Wimbledon and Rod Stewart." In fact, last week the students sang a medley of Rod Stewart songs to bid her a final farewell: "It was absolutely amazing." She added that she was so grateful to every single staff member, child and parent for the "beautiful" send-off they had given her. When asked about what they will miss about Jose, Dotty, from Year 4, said: "I'll miss her assemblies. She used to do challenges with us and they were very fun... and her magic tricks." Another child said that now she was retired, her wish for Jose was: "for her to be able to eat chocolate for breakfast lunch and dinner."
Ronald McDonald houses are a free safe space for families with children in hospital, and this one has undergone a huge £600k revamp. The Windsor Walk House, located just a stone’s throw from King’s College Hospital, is one of fourteen houses around the UK, run by Ronald McDonald House Charities UK. All 24 bedrooms have been redecorated, new flooring installed, new plumbing fittings fitted, and access panels added in bathrooms to allow easy access for future maintenance. Headboards and bedside shelving have been built in along with USB sockets for device charging and a new TV system has been installed throughout. Sealy Posturepedic Beds, gifted by the company, are now in all bedrooms and a staff room has been created so that colleagues have a dedicated area to relax away from their working areas. Richard Farish, Director of Estates at the Charity, said: “The refurbishment is part of our overarching reinvestment and long-term maintenance plans. It’s given the house a contemporary feel, whilst retaining the classic features of the beautiful Georgian period building. “I’d like to thank Quest Interiors, based in South Kensington, who was our main contractor for the refurb, as well as the project managers from Mortimer Isaacs, who were fantastic throughout. "It has taken several months to complete but was well worth the wait, as these improvements will benefit families and staff for many years to come.” On Saturday, April 22, the House held an afternoon tea to celebrate
the completion of the refurb. Guests included the Mayor of Southwark, Councillor Sunil Chopra, who attended alongside the Mayoress Varsha Chopra. They joined staff, volunteers, and families past and present, who’ve benefitted from staying at this vital provision. Among the past families was mumof-two Lauren Golden, who stayed at the House for three months in 2019, after her then eight-year-old son Charlie was hit by a car whilst crossing the road outside their home in Aylesham, near Canterbury. Lauren said: “Charlie was taken by Kent Air Ambulance to King's with a major head injury. Initially, we were given a tiny room by the ward to stay in while he was in intensive care. Once Charlie came out of the coma and moved onto the ward, we were offered a lovely room at the Ronald McDonald House. This gave us a safe, comfortable place to stay, and our older son Joe came to stay with us at the weekends.” Charlie’s injuries included four fractures to his pelvis, and he had to undergo intense daily therapy, including physio, speech and language and occupational therapy. Lauren added: “Eventually, Charlie was allowed to come and stay at the house with us, which was gamechanging. It made such a huge difference to his mental well-being." Ronald McDonald House Charities UK is an independent Charity, which operates fourteen houses across England, Wales, and Scotland, providing free ‘home away from home’ accommodation. A Ronald McDonald House saves each family an average of £1,240 in out-of-pocket accommodation expenses. Ronald McDonald House Camberwell, which opened in April 2000, provides free accommodation to the families of children being treated at King’s College Hospital London. The newly refurbished House is equipped with 24 ensuite bedrooms, communal lounges and kitchen areas and a children’s play area.
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
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NEWS 13
Advertorial
Women at war in Cameroon in Under the Kundè Tree
Inspired by her grandmother’s generation in Cameroon, Makundul explores the challenges that women like Sara faced every day in the 1950s during a violent and turbulent period. The drama tackles issues of colonialism, family, love, identity and freedom, grappling with these important topics that have significant contemporary relevance, while also revealing an often overlooked and unknown part of world history. Under the Kundè Tree is the only production in the UK to explore the Cameroonian Independence War through the lens of women. The conflict is often called the ‘Hidden War’, as it never made global headlines and to this day isn’t taught in schools around the world. This powerful
Photo by Elsie Lusty
production highlights this important moment in the decolonisation of Africa, and the history of Cameroon and its people.
Photo by Elsie Lusty
Set during the ‘Hidden War’ of Cameroonian Independence, the empowering production Under the Kundè Tree is coming to Southwark Playhouse this spring. Under the Kundè Tree, written by Clarisse Makundul and directed by Ebenezer Bamgboye, follows a young woman, Sara, struggling to balance her heart’s desire and the pressure to fulfill traditional familial obligations during a time of conflict and the fight for decolonisation.
Director Ebenezer Bamgboye comments: “A true honour to be bringing this gripping, visceral and virtuosic play to life; telling the story of the Cameroonian fight for independence for the first time in British theatre history. Alongside a stellar creative team, we are seeking to create an immersive, visually arresting and deeply theatrical production that entertains audiences whilst confronting them with the previously hidden, dark history of the Western world.” Wednesday 24th May – Saturday 17th June 2023 Southwark Playhouse Borough, 77 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD
14 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
Peckham doctor jailed for ten years after brokering organ harvest plot for rich Nigerian senator
JAILED: Obinna Obeta
By Kevin Quinn kevin@southwarknews.co.uk A Peckham doctor was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment last week for brokering an organ harvesting plot for a Nigerian senator, which involved trafficking a poor Lagos street seller to the UK.
Fifty-one-year-old Dr Obinna Obeta, was found guilty in March of conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation and at the Old Bailey on Friday, May 5, he was handed his sentence in what has been described as a landmark prosecution - the first of its kind under modern slavery laws in the UK. Wealthy Nigerian Senator Ike Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 56, who both live in Abuja, Nigeria, were found guilty of the same offence. Ike Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months' imprisonment and his wife four years and six months. The trafficked Lagos street seller, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has declined applying for compensation, irrespective of the financial benefit he stood to make. In his victim impact statement to the court he described how he wanted to put the entire ordeal behind him. His plan is to work, get an education and play football. The victim continues to be safeguarded and police are working closely with partners on future support. 'We applaud the man's bravery for giving evidence in the case and the tireless work of the police involved in the investigation," said Julie Currie, Victim Navigator Programme Manager at Justice and Care. "We hope the trial sends a clear message out to other traffickers that they will be
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
pursued," she said after sentencing was passed. "Thankfully, in the UK, cases of organ trafficking are very rare. "It has been our privilege to support the survivor involved, who has been through a horrific experience, and help him to begin to rebuild his life," she added. Dr Obinna Obeta, who was described as the middle man, was arrested on July 12 at his home address in Peckham. Police said that he himself was an organ recipient in 2021 and that he played a pivotal role in this offence. He recruited the victim and had significant communication with him. The court heard how the plot was to provide a kidney to the Nigerian couple’s daughter Sonia Ekweremadu, 25, who fell ill while studying at Newcastle University in December 2019. The three defendants had tried to convince medics at the Royal Free that the victim was Sonia's cousin. Sonia was cleared of the same charge as her parents and remains on weekly dialysis with a debilitating illness. Jurors heard how Dr Obeta used a private medical company to arrange a visa for the 21-year-old victim to come to the UK to donate his kidney. After being brought to the UK on February 20, 2022, the victim stayed with Obeta at his Peckham address. The victim, who made a few pounds a day selling phone accessories from a wheelbarrow, believed he would earn money by working for the Ekweremadu family. But the court heard that, unbeknown to him, it had been arranged for him to provide a kidney at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead Heath as part of an £80,000 private transplant that the Ekweremadus were funding The court heard how it became apparent to the doctor carrying out the screening that the victim had limited understanding of why he was there. After several appointments, the victim realised
JAILED: Nigerian Senator Ekweremadu and wife Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu he would be donating a kidney and the consultant noted the fear and panic this caused the victim. The victim said he returned to Obinna’s property but described how the mood had changed significantly and how he was treated as a ‘slave’. The victim then escaped the property, sleeping rough for around three days, before walking into Staines Police Station on May 5, 2022. He reportedly told police: “I don’t know anywhere, I don’t know where I am. I was sleeping three days outside around, for someone to help me, save my life. “The doctor said I was too young but the man said if you do not do it here he would carry me back to Nigeria and do it there.” Detectives from Specialist Crime Command’s Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation Unit launched an investigation to understand how this vulnerable man had arrived in London. The court heard how Sonia’s father Ike Ekweremadu enlisted the help of his medically-trained brother, Diwe Ekweremadu, to search for a donor for his sick daughter in 2021.
Diwe Ekweremadu, who remains in Nigeria, turned to former classmate Dr Obeta who had recently had a private kidney transplant at the Royal Free thanks to a Nigerian donor. The victim, who was known to Obeta’s donor, was recruited from a Lagos street market and provided with a passport and medical travel visa. The court heard that he underwent blood tests in Nigeria which he thought were necessary to get a visa, but were instead to determine if he was a medical match to Sonia. Detectives obtained Obeta’s mobile phone, finding “extensive involvement” in the offence saying he recruited the victim and communicated with him. They also discovered an application for a six-month visa for the victim. The application stated: “Senator Ike Ekweremadu is sponsoring my medical treatment to enable me to donate an organ to Sonia Ekweremadu in Royal Free Hospital, London, UK.” “I would be donating an organ to my closest cousin (Sonia) in appreciation for her sacrifices towards me, my family and
community. I am willing to put my life on the line for her to live and continue her good service to humanity,” it also stated. On 21 June 2022, detectives arrested Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu at Heathrow Airport, weeks before arresting Obeta at his home address. “This investigation into organ harvesting was conducted by dedicated, specialist crime teams. Getting to the truth was challenging and complex," said Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, the Met’s Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation lead. "Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu and Obeta preyed on the victim, a young man vulnerable by his personal circumstances, using their significant wealth and political influence to intimidate and exploit him. “Modern Slavery is hidden in plain sight in our communities and high streets, in hospitality, our factories, sex work and construction. We need the public’s help in identifying potential victims of trafficking and exploitation to enable us to target the organised criminals who see people as a commodity and who control, enable and facilitate the slavery of human beings,” he added.
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
NEWS 15
Unusual Craft Week activities in Southwark By Isabel Ramirez
isabel@southwarknews.co.uk Craft Week is being celebrated across London next week and there are two unusual activities taking place in Southwark. 1. Delve into the world of letter carving in Kennington On Saturday 13 May there will be demonstrations of letter carving by the Lettering Arts Trust’s current journeyman, providing insight into the design, composition and intricacies of cutting beautiful lettering. Based in Kennington, they will be showcasing a selection of hand-carved lettering created by some of its former Journeymen who are alumni of the City & Guilds of London Art School. The Lettering Arts Trust is a charity dedicated to ensuring that the heritage craft of hand-carved lettering
continues to flourish. City & Guilds of London Art School, 124 Kennington Park Road, SE11 4DJ No need to book. Go to londoncraftweek. com here for more information.
2. Learn how aluminium trays are made in Peckham Kaymet Factory are opening to the public, to show them how they make their classic aluminium serving trays and trolleys. There will also be the chance to buy products at bargain prices. Kaymet produces around 40,000 trays per year, a smaller number of trolleys (and some electric table hotplates). The business started in the basement of a family-run radio shop at Elephant & Castle, evolving into Kaymet in 1947, by which time a move to Kennington Lane had been made. At the end of the 1950s, the company built its own factory near Old Kent Road, where it stayed until the 1990s. Four moves later, they arrived at their current fine spot behind Asda on Ossory Road. Guided Tours will take place during working hours to see the staff in action: Wednesday 10 May, 11:30 12:30, 14:00 - 15:00 / Thursday 11 May, 11:30 - 12:30, 14:00 - 15:00 Kaymet Works, 52 Ossory Road, SE1 5AN Tickets are £10. Go to londoncraftweek.com here for more information.
Prince of Peckham to host a ‘birthday week’ of events as the pub turns six By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk The Prince of Peckham pub is celebrating its sixth birthday and has announced a week of events to mark the occasion, including a charity clothes swap and a 'glow in the dark' rave.
Opened in 2017 by local pub-lover and entrepreneur Clement Ogbonnaya, he is due to start celebrations on Monday, May 15 to Sunday, May 21 with a full week of events. From a charity clothes swap, Big Fat Queer Quiz hosted by the legendary voguer Jay Jay Revlon, and live performances from the afrobeats' legend Dele Sosimi to Little Prince and Princess UV Glow in the Dark rave - there appears
to be something for everyone. When discussing the importance of a space like Prince of Peckham, Clement said, "While people are searching for a sense of belonging and community now more than ever, many British boozers have gone from being area hubs to laying empty and derelict, which is a tragedy. "I think there's a massive opportunity to rejuvenate the pub scene and bring them back to the heart of the community." In addition to the Peckham venue, they recently opened a second site in Tulse Hill - Queen of the South. For a full programme of the events on offer and to book tickets go to princeofpeckham. co.uk Prince of Peckham, 1 Clayton Road, SE15 5JA
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Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
By Kevin Quinn kevin@southwarknews.co.uk Identical twin brothers from south London have been jailed after a specialist crime squad carried out an operation looking into London teenagers being recruited to carry out county line drug dealing in Hertfordshire.
Prosecutors told Kingston Crown Court that 24-year-old Malik Aziz of Streatham, exploited two boys aged 14 and 15 and ran a drugs line with his brother Omar and Samir Mustafa, 24, from Reading. As well as jail sentences all three men were issued with ten-year Criminal Behaviour Orders which prohibits them from ‘making, participating in and/or publishing any material inciting gang related violence.’ Another condition of the order stops them from ‘being in the company of any persons ages 16 or under without the express permission of their parents or legal guardian.’ The two London teenagers were reported missing by their parents in January last year. Both were found at an address in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, on January 18, 2022. Police detained Omar and Malik Aziz at their Streatham home a short while later. A phone controlling the Hatfield line was seized from Malik. He had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for conspiracy to supply crack cocaine / heroin and possession of a firearm. Twin brother Omar was jailed alongside him on Tuesday, May 2, to three years and two months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin. Meanwhile Samir Mustafa was handed a two years and three months’ sentence having pleaded guilty to the same charge plus driving whilst disqualified. Officers from Operation Orochi, the Met’s specialist crime team dedicated to tackling high harm offenders involved in county lines drugs supply, carried out a proactive operation to bring the trio to justice. Police said a mobile phone and black ‘Hoodrich’ gloves were seized from Malik Aziz. The phone was found to be the number for a Hatfield drugs line. They said this line had been directing children to supply drugs on their behalf and sending out bulk SMS messages advertising crack cocaine and heroin for sale. When officers searched the twin brothers’ home address they discovered a bag containing a small unloaded Sig Sauer self-loading pistol. Eight rounds of ammunition were found in a man-bag. The firearm was later identified as belonging to Malik after footage was found on his mobile phone. Police said he was seen holding the gun whilst wearing the same distinctive gloves he was wearing upon arrest. DNA matching that of the identical twins was also found on the firearm. The court also heard that CCTV footage recovered from the home address of Malik and Omar Aziz showed the two missing children attending the premises prior to going missing. This is believed to be where they would have been supplied with the drugs for onward sale. More than £2,000 in cash was seized from the address and Samir Mustafa’s driving licence was also seized, along with a zombie knife. Mustafa was arrested the following day after being identified as the person who physically transported the children to and from Hatfield in his Mercedes S Class car, whilst being disqualified. He was located in the vicinity of Crawford Place in Westminster. After sentencing Detective Constable Dec James, the investigating officer from Operation Orochi, said: “County lines drug
www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
NEWS 17
County lines: South London drug dealer twins jailed Omar Aziz
Malik Aziz
Saamir Mustafa
Firearm Photos - © Met Police
dealers exploit young and vulnerable people to facilitate their drug supply. “They hope that by using vulnerable children as drugs runners they will shield themselves from identification and prosecution by law enforcement. This is because frequently, these exploited persons are too scared to assist police. “Drill music was also used to glorify their criminal activities. "I hope this sentence sends out a message that we will not tolerate the exploitation of children nor the supply of drugs. “We will pursue those involved, irrespective of whether the victim assists the police or not. “The additional recovery of a loaded firearm associated with these
perpetrators reflects the intractable association between drug supply and violence.” The two children were not prosecuted and instead safeguarded. Police said they have been referred to Children's Services at their local authorities. Since 1 April 2023 Orochi have conducted 20 operations, rescuing 27 children from County Lines and charged 25 individuals with modern slavery offences. The specialist crime unit have worked closely with Rescue and Response, a pan-London service that supports London young people aged up to 25 who are involved in or affected by county lines activity.
Other useful organisations for young people and their families caught up in county line activity include: • Catch 22 is a specialist support and rescue service for young people and their families who are criminally exploited through county lines. • The SafeCall service, run by charity Missing People, offers confidential, non-judgemental support to young people and their families. • Victim Support is an independent charity in England and Wales that provides specialist practical and emotional support to victims and witnesses of crime.
•
•
#LookCloser is a partnership campaign between The Children’s Society, the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre and the British Transport Police, encouraging everyone to learn the signs of child exploitation and how to report it if worried, including here on their anonymous online form. The campaign also seeks to highlight that child exploitation can happen anywhere, and any young person can be a victim. Find out more at the campaign webpage. For more advice on drugs, their effects and the law, talk to Frank.
18 OPINION www.southwarknews.co.uk/letters
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Comment
T
hroughout the Covid-19 pandemic our doctors, nurses, radiographers, physiotherapists and other health professionals worked exceptionally hard under the most challenging of circumstances to keep us all safe.
It was physically and mentally exhausting work and had a huge impact on everyone who worked in our hospitals, GP surgeries or out in the community visiting patients at home. Our NHS entered the Covid-19 pandemic fundamentally weakened after the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in government from 2010 had reduced resources, failed to prepare for the challenges to come and taken deliberate decisions to not train enough of the next generation of doctors, nurses and other health workers. The previous Labour government invested in our hospitals, GP surgeries and new doctors and nurses and brought down waiting lists so that patients were seen quickly and operations carried out in a timely manner. But since 2010 under the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats waiting lists had been continuously rising right up until the start of the pandemic.
helen hayes
MP for Dulwich & West Norwood
‘We will turn the NHS around again’
Just a fortnight ago a friend of mine and a local constituent in his 80s slipped and fell, badly damaging his knee and had to go to Accident and Emergency. He had to wait 18 hours in pain in the Emergency clinic before a bed could be found so that he could have the surgery needed to fix his knee. This is unacceptable for patients and
staff alike – no healthcare professional wants to see patients waiting like this for the treatment and care they need. Yet this is the price that we are paying for 13 years of austerity and underinvestment in the NHS, with staff and services stretched to breaking point. Labour has a clear and costed plan to start work on turning around
the state of our Health Service. We will deliver one of the biggest NHS workforce expansions in history by doubling the number of district nurses qualifying each year, training more than 5,000 new health visitors, creating an additional 10,000 nursing and midwifery placements every year and doubling
the number of medical school places. Every local resident and every member of NHS staff deserves so much better than this Conservative government has delivered. Labour turned around the NHS when we were in government before, and we will do so when we are in government again.
Snails clear up debris and are the garden cleaners. But they can decimate all kinds of plants, they are able to glide effortlessly into shrubs and high into trees accessing new growth. Protect young plants, Hosta’s and Dahlias. In the spirit of conservation don’t try to eradicate these gastropods, you’ll never get rid of them all anyway. Make it harder for these greedy feeders to access your plants using barriers and removing the slugs and snails to areas of the garden (not your next door neighbours) where they will do the least damage. To control numbers use organic methods readily available online or from garden centres. Always check for slugs and snails on your new plant purchases, as well as for the dreaded vine weevils - which are usually seen as grey mottled beetles (or white larvae around the roots of plants).
The show of daffodils, snowdrops, grape hyacinths, Forsythia and Kerria are making way for other flowering shrubs such as - Choisya (Mexican orange) the Ceanothus (Californian lilac) and Genista (Broom) these can be seen in some of the open spaces and gardens around the Borough. Roses and Wisteria are late to flower this year due to prolonged
colder temperatures. The wonderful Rosemary (pictured) - one off the first shrubs into bloom this year (late January) and it shows no sign of stopping. If pruning is needed the best time to do this is after flowering. Keep the cuttings, tie them into bundles for drying. What would we do without Rosemary - a wonderful culinary herb, but valuable as a garden
shrub for hardiness, for the aroma and its repeat flowering - bees love it too. Early May is a good time to plan summer hanging basket displays, a useful addition to the garden or balcony and a way to introduce seasonal planting, especially if space is limited. A varied range of plants can be grown either annual flowers for show - or edibles such as strawberries, tumbling tomatoes and fragrant herbs like Basil.
Slug, snails and Rosemary A
pril’s weather was very changeable with sunshine and showers, but it was also cold with an easterly wind for most of the month – typical April conditions! Expect all kinds of weather during May - days can be warm but with much cooler night time temperatures. Watch out for late frosts.
As the season progresses pests such as slugs and snails will be at work in the garden. We are asked by various environmental organisations not to think of slugs and snails as pests; and they certainly have a positive contribution to make. For example slugs break down old plant material and rotting leaves and turn it into nitrogen rich fertiliser for the soil. Slugs are also a food source for birds, insects, small mammals and frogs.
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
www.southwarknews.co.uk/letters
OPINION 19
We need to preserve facilities for young people even if residents don't want to join their boards
T
his week, we cover the potential closure of a community hall in Bermondsey, which would leave the local scouts group without a home. Losing a youth facility in this climate would be a depressing waste of a much-needed resource.
Closing a hall which provides young boys with the opportunity to do a weekly activity, that
keeps them busy and off the streets seems absurd. Near enough every week we hear of young
males getting caught up in crime, such as the stabbing of a 16-year-old boy in Burgess Park this week.
You have to question whether we would be seeing this as often if youths had places to go to
learn skills and be part of something positive. Many kids in Southwark appear to be slipping through the net, and as their community, we have a duty to prevent that from happening.
Not only would the scouts lose a home and some kids be forced to give up scouting altogether,
but local residents would also lose the opportunity for making a collective profit by renting out the space. Again, another loss for the community.
The reason Magdalen Hall is facing closure is due to all but one TRA member stepping down
and there being 'no sign' of anyone willing to take their places.
We would encourage anyone living on the Purbrook, St Saviours, or Aylwin Estate to get
involved in keeping this hall open by signing up for the TRA. It's often the case that as humans
we are quick to criticise but when the door opens to potentially do something - we are nowhere to be seen.
As Kyle Simmons, the last remaining TRA member, said - it's an opportunity to ensure residents'
voices are heard.
Of course, all will become clear when the elections arrive on May 31st, but even if a new board
is not elected, the council must surely have plans in place, to ensure another youth facility is not lost.
cryptic Puzzle Clues Across 1 Cyril's composing songs (6) 7 Turns, alas, to spoil the wine (7) 8 In time I've come back to turn aside (7) 9 Material found in any London store (5) 10 Shameless and without makeup (9) 12 Before a tune is heard (3) 13 Brought up by the baker? (4) 15 Progressive loan (7) 17 The last thing one does (4) 19 Consumed a sound number (3) 21 Lessens fashion charges (9) 22 The lot, musically (5) 23 Act like a snake and cut her (7) 24 Against the only comfort? (7) 25 Sound sense leads us to a population count (6)
Quick Puzzle Clues Across 1 Piece of cultivated ground (6) 7 One who introduces performers (7) 8 Clothing (7) 9 Weaving frames (5) 10 For a period (9) 12 Weight (3) 13 On top of (4) 15 Of or like fire (7) 17 English nobleman (4) 19 Open fabric (3) 21 Those who are present (9) 22 Struck an attitude (5) 23 Tell (7) 24 Contend (7) 25 Type of pea (6)
Clues Down 1 But not a suitable mate for the cock (8) 2 French dream concerning respect (6) 3 Teased in a corny way (7) 4 Mind about the right fashion (5) 5 But he is not necessarily a suitor (6) 6 Grass skirts are not made from this material (4) 7 Archie mends his wares (11) 11 Periods found in other Asian cultures (4) 13 Wager on a Greek letter (4) 14 Courses one abandons about the start of the season (8) 16 Take care about the bin it's explosive (7) 18 Get in a muddle at table (6) 20 Draws the eagle's head, then the chest, a little roughly (6) 21 The younger son sounds destined for the pit (5) 22 Zigzag stitch (4)
Clues Down 1 Joyous (8) 2 Meal (6) 3 Personal ornament (7) 4 Fragrance (5) 5 Make good (6) 6 Possessive pronoun (4) 7 Secret (11) 11 Make dirty (4) 13 To be accustomed (4) 14 Short film about current events (8) 16 Deprive of courage (7) 18 Take up again (6) 20 Occupier (6) 21 Increased (5) 22 Choose (4)
Solutions to last week’s crossword Cryptic Across: 4 Depart 8 Pompous 9 Mental 10 Streetcar 11 Been 13 Angle 14 Millers 16 Peanuts 18 Acids 19 Edit 21 Shellback 22 Dainty 23 Spirits 24 Egging Down: Portended 2 Appellant 3 Suits 5 Ever 6 Attlee 7 Talons 9 Maniac 11 Blackbird 12 Eradicate 15 Itchy 16 Peddle 17 Ailing 20 Slope 21 Stun Quick PUZZLE Across: 4 Permit 8 Carrier 9 Agenda 10 Persecute 11 Stop 13 Steed 14 Ulsters 16 Lecture 18 Ember 19 Ones 21 Consulate 22 Diadem 23 Lignite 24 Nestle Down: 1 Gazetteer 2 Prospects 3 Leech 5 Edge 6 Minute 7 Tramps 9 Atoll 11 Stimulant 12 Orientate 15 Broom 16 London 17 Cedars 20 Astir 21 Cell
20 ARTS www.southwarknews.co.uk/arts
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Photo by Helen Murray
what’s on
in Southwark
Dixon and Daughters
‘Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it’ These words from Helen Keller are quoted in the programme of ‘Dixon and Daughters’, which just opened at the National Theatre, writes Katie Kelly.
There is inevitably a lot of suffering in a story involving women in prison but what of the overcoming?
watercress sauce in the fridge ‘You Like a bit of salmon, don’t you?’ chirps daughter Bernie. But all is not well and over the next tense hour and a half, everything unravels as the house gives up its secrets. Mary moves from comically cranky to vicious and descends as far as to be almost monstrous before perhaps beginning to crawl towards redemption, liberated by the person
she has most harmed. The play depends on a gradual revelation of secrets for its tension so it is important to avoid plot spoilers, but typically of Clean Break theatre company, it explores the issues that lead to the incarceration of women such as cycles of abuse, intergenerational trauma and destructive coping mechanisms. The initial tableau of Mary,
Kate, like a buttoned-up schoolteacher. But the energetic dancing merely threw a spotlight on how little else they had in their mundane lives. When Michael’s father Gerry appears there were hopes for some drama, but he came to say he was off to fight for the International Brigade against Franco’s Fascists. Kate pointed out that he was on the side fighting the Catholics but Christina claimed he was fighting to save democracy. The return from Uganda of their brother Jack, where he has been a missionary for many years, creates some tension but very little. His presence is more gentle comedy than edge-of-your-seat excitement. Father Jack’s mind has been affected by malaria but the other symptoms that manifest themselves are his leanings towards a more African way of living: multiple wives, witch doctors, and pagan ceremonies, which did not go down well with the local religious leaders who refused to let him say mass in the village church. When a knitwear factory opened in the village I thought that would be the catalyst for protest when Aggie and Rose lose their meagre income, but no. Michael tells us they got jobs there.
Talk of Kate losing her teaching job also amounted to nothing. The rooster mysteriously dies and nobody blames Maggie. Rose goes missing with Daniel for three hours but she doesn’t have to explain. So many moments when some life could be injected into the play, but Brian Friel chooses not to, not even for the sake of dramatic expression. Dancing at Lughnasa started and stopped just like the wireless radio they had. And then it ended as underwhelmingly as it began, with Michael giving a long speech telling us what happened to his mother, aunts and uncle. Overall, the play is about changes in Irish society and an attack on the ridiculous restrictions that religion and the church have on people’s lives, and how the younger generation is fighting against it. Gerry will fight Catholics to keep democracy; Father Jack sees more sense in the Ugandan leper colony than in the teachings he had been brainwashed with; Christina and Gerry felt no need to be wed, and there were other hints at sex before marriage in the dialogue. Dancing at Lughnasa is a nice slice of Irish life but I want more from a
visit to the theatre. I don’t want to feel I’ve been stuck in a roomful of my aunts all gossiping. With three actors from Derry Girls and Ardal O’Hanlon a Father Ted legend, I wanted belly laughs. I got chuckles. My companion just wanted the women to stop folding and unfolding towels. For me, reading the programme on the journey home was much more fulfilling. It was there I found out that Rose had moved to London and died
Despondent in Donegal A great set shows a valley in County Donegal with a cottage nestling at the bottom and trees that actually shimmer in the breeze and clouds that float across the sky. This is where everything happens to the five isolated and unmarried Mundy sisters. Or where very little happens, writes Michael Holland.
Michael opens Dancing at Lughnasa with a long speech that informs us that this story will be his version in flashback - a tale that covers the summer of 1936 when Michael was seven. For the first 40 minutes we listen to the sisters chatting about nothing in particular: two of them run the house(Maggie and Christina); one is a school teacher (Kate) and two work from home knitting gloves (Agnes and Rose). They all help to bring up Michael, as his parents, Gerry and Christina, never married. There is also a rooster that attacks Maggie and a radio that works intermittently and sometimes brings music into the kitchen that allows the girls to express themselves through dance: the younger ones with wild abandon, Maggie like a fun-loving crazy lady, and
Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX until 10th June. Times: Mon - Sat 7.30pm; Wed & Sat matinees 2.30pm. Admission: £20 - £60. Booking: www.nationaltheatre.org
Photo by Johan Persson
The play opens with the homecoming of the extremely unmotherly matriarch, Mary, from a spell in prison. Her return is greeted by anxious caring by one daughter and deep ambivalence by the other. As resettlement from prison goes, this is pretty civilised. No hostel and £50 for Mary. Instead, her comfortable home has been kept ready and there is salmon with
daughters and granddaughter is soon interrupted by two fabulously disruptive guests, Briana, once Tina, is on a truth-seeking mission entirely unwanted by her host. Played magnificently by Alison Fitzjohn, she is a ball of energy. All power dressing and self-help mantras, she has risen, phoenix-like, from the ashes of a destructive childhood. Though hilarious, she is never a figure of fun, she is too powerful and wounded for that. The very definition of a survivor, she is victorious and glorious even in her pain. Leigh arrives fresh from the street having reconnected with Mary; who she befriended in prison. Mary displays towards Leigh a maternal capacity entirely absent from her dealings with her own daughters. An example of the power of bonds made to survive the trauma of imprisonment. Knickerless and wired, initially filthy from the street, Leigh is in turns witty, courageous, unpredictable chaotic and kind,. She feels like the last thing this family needs but becomes a truth-teller and even peacemaker. No easy answers emerge but in the recovery of truth, and the shared strength of women, although suffering is by no means overcome, it is at least spoken, shared and lightened.
as an inmate of Newington Lodge - ‘a dumping ground for destitute women’ in Westmoreland Road, Walworth, home of Arments, one of my favourite pie-mash shops. Now that is a play right there. National Theatre, South Bank, SE1 9PX until May 27th. Times: 7.30pm, Wed & Sat matinees 2pm. Admission: £20 - £86. Booking: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
www.southwarknews.co.uk/arts
ARTS 21
Arts
Ain’t Too Proud To Love The Temptations
Two and half hours of listening to top Motown is not a bad way to spend two and a half hours, and when you can spend that time in the company of great singers and an adoring audience then that makes it even better, writes Michael Holland...
Photo by Johan Persson
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations is exactly that, beginning with young boys who sung hymns in the churches of Detroit and Doo-wop on the local street corners. Otis Williams was one of those boys and he set about putting a group together. Recruiting from school and the streets, they became Otis Williams and The Distants and managed to get signed by Motown boss Berry Gordy. Alas, they never had a hit. That bad streak ended when the band began working with songwriter and producer Smokey Robinson and after many non-charting records, they reached the Top 20 with The Way You Do The Things You Do, which was the first of many big hits and worldwide adulation. Nevertheless, Ain’t Too Proud is not just about the good times, this show gets down in the dirt and reveals that Otis went to jail before he formed the group; we hear that fame also brought the horrors of drink and drugs to some members, which led to missed rehearsals and performances; there was a shotgun wedding, domestic violence and several dysfunctional relationships. They dealt with all that within the group while they were touring the US and the world to keep the money rolling in - mainly for the pockets of Berry Gordy, who took the biggest cut while the band shared their portion five ways.
Terrell showing up for a tune or two. And we see how the troupe wanted to get away from the typical boy meets girl songs they had been doing throughout the Sixties and sing about what’s going on as Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder did. But that meant breaking away from Smokey and using Norman Whitfield songs, which were more political and told of the social problems of the time. Another story that threads its way through the years was how the relationship between Otis and his son developed with him being away most
In truth, Dante nods to revolutionary ideas more than makes them. His split from the style of the Royal Academy with the establishment of the PreRaphaelite Brotherhood is rendered as teenage insolence in his cartoons. Of the Brotherhood, it is not Dante but Millais who, even in his short inclusion in this exhibition, stands out. An early sketch of his ‘Christ in the House of His Parents’, depicts the Brotherhood’s revolutionary tackling of modern social issues more than other Pre-Raphaelite paintings of medieval subjects ever could. Based on a real carpenter’s shop in Oxford Street, the sketch humbles our notions of God and dignifies our notions of work. Rossetti was not as busy championing the working class as he was sleeping with them. The exhibition tastefully calls his relationships ‘unconventional, but it is believed that his delay in marrying muse Elizabeth Siddal was in large part down to concerns about her lower class. The exhibition tries hard to argue that Siddal was a worthy painter/poet in her own right, but her inclusion only alongside Rossetti, it fails to prove it. Here her work is exhibited only alongside similar works of her husband’s with commentary almost
exclusively on the impact she had on him. The later ‘revolutionary’ work of the Arts and Crafts movement which Rossetti was a part of, is overshadowed by the gallery’s constant reminders of the ways the movement’s interest in ‘Orientalism’ propagated the view of the East as a mystical and primitive land. A view that encouraged Britain’s continued colonial project. It is fitting that a retrospective aimed at assessing Rosetti’s impact includes these details, but next to images of his work exclusively in upper-middleclass homes, it leaves the man looking more like a sell-out than a radical. By the end of the exhibition, fatigue sets in. You are treated to portrait after portrait of colourful and stiff femmes fatales too unreal to be sexy which mostly illustrates Dante’s incredible ability to flatten the women he claimed to love into one ubiquitous image. You claw your way to the end, barely stopping to take in the final room desperate to make it out of the socalled revolution and into the sunshine.
Another pouting goddess ruins the Rossettis exhibition at Tate The tagline that Tate Britain gives its Rossettis’ retrospective is ‘Radical Romantics’. As we wandered into the 7th room, all romance had departed as my friend looked at the umpteenth puffy-haired, pouting goddess and exclaimed ‘Not another one!’, writes Madeleine Kelly...
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the exhibition went wrong because there are so few moments it went right. In the first room, the sight of a young Christina Rossetti as the Virgin Mary curled up on the edge of a low bed, glaring at the Angel Gabriel’s gift is a psychologically intense take on the theme. This version of ‘The Annunciation’ by Dante Gabriel Rossetti is accompanied by his sister Christina’s poetry on the walls. Standing at various fixed points in the room, you can hear the poems read aloud. Poetry in an art exhibition is a tricky task to pull off, but the Tate does an admirable job here. If the first room makes a case for ‘The Rossettis’ as a revolutionary family group, the next 8 rooms largely forget about the contributions of the rest of the family to focus on Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It is his life and loves that the exhibition pores over, at pains to find him a radical romantic.
Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG until 24th September. Times: Daily 10.00 - 8.00. Admission: £22, £20. Booking: www.tate.org.uk
of the young boy’s life. It is, perhaps, something that many can relate to. And we also learnt how one of the ‘Temps’ died in a crack house. Today there is just Otis still alive, in his 80s but still getting out on stage with the latest amalgamation of men that call themselves The Temptations. There have been 27 over the years and they continue to perform some of the greatest music ever written. But Ain’t Too Proud is not just about the songs and the singers, there are also 150 minutes of choreography that reignite
that feeling of the 60s just as much as the lyrics of My Girl. It is also about this cast of actors who get out there and make us believe that we are watching The Temptations.
See it now in the beautiful Art Deco surroundings of the Prince Edward Theatre, Old Compton Street, London, W1D 4HS. Times: Tues - Sat 7.30pm; Thurs & Sat matinees 2.30pm; Sun 3pm. Admission: £35 - £150. Booking until January 2024. 0344 482 5151 www.princeedwardtheatre.co.uk
Photo by Delaware Aer Museum
The main backstory is the internecine back-biting and battles, sometimes spilling over to the stage. That, perhaps, is a common product of a group that has five people who all want to be in the limelight as the lead singer. David Ruffin demanded they call the group David Ruffin and The Temptations! These problems led to members being fired, members leaving to break out on their own and the eventual obligatory reunion. But it is not just the Temptations we see perform here, we are treated to The Contours, The Supremes and Tammi
22 FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS www.southwarknews.co.uk
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
The Passing of a Musical Legend: Mrs Mary Graham Kingsdale Foundation School
Left to Right: Baroness Floella Benjamin, Peter Graham (son), Mary Graham, Nicola Graham (daughter), Helen Hayes MP acclaiming Mrs Graham for her momentous victory in the prestigious Pearson National Lifetime Teaching Awards in 2021.
Mary Graham promoting The National Teaching Awards!
Left to Right: Late Husband Barry Graham, Peter Graham (son), Nicola Graham (daughter), Mary Graham
It is with heartfelt sadness and regret that we inform our local community that the musical giant, Mrs Mary Graham passed away peacefully surrounded by her beloved children Peter and Nicola, her grandchildren Isabella and Alexander and close extended wider family members.
Mary Graham was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement National Teaching Silver Award for London and the South East of England in 2021 in recognition of her amazing contribution to the teaching profession.
Mrs Graham flourished at Kingsdale Foundation School for over half a century working alongside her late husband, Barry for over 40 years, during which time she shaped, organised and directed the musical education of thousands of young people at Kingsdale and beyond, as well as the careers of innumerable colleagues and Newly Qualified Teachers.
On behalf of the generations of students who benefitted from Mary’s work we salute her. The teaching profession has lost a true legend and a treasured colleague. Mrs Graham was unique. Mary Graham loved Kingsdale and Kingsdale loved her. She dedicated her professional life to the success of one school.
Her pioneering cost-free Music Scholarship programme targeted at novices enabled over 1,500 students to achieve Music Grades 6 plus. Her influence has extended to the far reaches of the globe encompassing tours to countries such as Brazil, Namibia and Canada. Her legacy of promoting cultural diversity is best exemplified by the plethora of alumni performing across the West End and beyond.
We extend the greatest thanks to Mrs Graham for everything she did to establish Kingsdale as a proud, diverse, class-neutral and Outstanding School as well as the most popular school London has ever known.
Mrs Graham was determined that every child should be given opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge and tools to enable them to excel in Music.
The memorial arrangements for Mary have been scheduled to begin on the morning of Tuesday 30th May 2023. Further details will be available from the school, on request in advance, to those wishing to pay their respects.
Mrs Graham will always be remembered for her passion, exceptionally high standards, immense drive and for the spectacular and plentiful music concerts and festivals that took place throughout each academic year. These events enabled students at all levels to participate and celebrate their collective love of music.
Steve Morrison Executive Headteacher Kingsdale Foundation School
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
CLASSIFIED 23
Classified
Southwark Pensioners’ Centre Supporting older people in Southwark for over 35 years. Offering advice, support, activities, rooms for hire and a voice for older people.
ScotsCare is here to help and support Scots and their families in Greater London
Contact us on 020 7708 4556 or info@southwarkpensioners.org.uk
Our services include: Financial Support | Advocacy | Counselling | Sheltered Housing | Homelessness | Job Coaching | Social Events | Volunteering
Or pop into 305 -307 Camberwell rd, Camberwell Green, SE5 0HQ
Elim House Day Centre Supporting older people in Southwark for over 35 years.
To find out more, visit
www.scotscare.com
Offering Leisure & Fitness activities, Minibus Service to and from the centre, Outings and a voice for older people. Morning breakfast, afternoon lunch and tea and biscuits served late afternoon Contact us on 020 7358 9502 or elimhousecas@gmail.com Or pop into 86-88 Bellenden Road, Peckham, SE15 4RQ W: elimhousedaycentre.com Volunteers always welcome.
or call
0800 652 2989 to speak with a case worker to see how we can assist you. Registered Charity No.207326
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Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK
LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (IVYDALE ROAD, MANOR PLACE, SURREY ROW)
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (EMPRESS STREET, ALBION STREET, OMEARA STREET, REDCROSS WAY) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC)
(TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC) 1.
The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that to enable various works to be carried out, it made, an order, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering part of the above named roads.
1.
2.
Whilst the works are in progress, or whilst the authorised traffic signs/road markings are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to enter, proceed, stop, wait, load or unload at any time in:
The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that to enable various works to be carried out, it intends, to make, an order, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering part of the above named roads.
2.
Whilst the works are in progress, or whilst the authorised traffic signs/road markings are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to enter, proceed, stop, wait, load or unload at any time in:
(a) Ivydale Road, between No’s 98 – 108, located between Linden Grove and Limesford Road (b) Manor Place, between Delverton Road and Braganza Street (c) Surrey Row, between Great Suffolk Street and Blackfriars Road 3.
The alternative route for affected traffic (2a) (2b) (2c) as indicated by the signs displayed
4.
‘at any time’ waiting and loading restrictions will be introduced between No’s 98 – No’s 108 Ivydale Road for (2a)
5.
Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, so far as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.
6.
The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.
7.
The works will be in operation for (2a) 24th – 26th May (2b) 24th – 26th May (2c) 22nd May – 5th June
8.
Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk
Dated this 11th May 2023 Ian Law Traffic Manager London Borough of Southwark Network Management Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth 160 Tooley Street PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref: (2a) 6448/000811479580045-001 (2b) 6535/ UKP10443-RC (2c) 6468/000811479580045-001 THE MARINE AND COASTAL ACCESS ACT 2009 THE MARINE WORKS (ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT) REGULATIONS 2007 (as amended) APPLICATION FOR: CONVOYS WHARF, MARKETING SUITE (RESTAURANT) WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE JETTY. Notice is hereby given that Mr Finian Gogarty, 4 Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 1RN has applied to Marine Management Organisation, (MMO) for a marine licence to carry out a regulated activity under the Marine and Coastal Act 2009. The project requires an environmental impact assessment (EIA) consent and is subject to the requirement for an EIA under the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2007 (the EIA Regulations). An environmental statement has been prepared by the applicant. The application is to take place at Convoys Wharf in Lewisham, on the frontage of the River Thames. The proposed works will consist of the construction on a temporary marketing suite, an access road and landscaping works to the existing jetty. The works are set to be completed by 10/04/2024. Copies of the environmental statement and the above documents can be viewed on line in the MMOs Public Register at www.gov.uk/check-marine-licence-register
(a)Empress Street,10m either side of railway bridge, located at it’s junction with Fielding Street to it’s blocked end (b) Albion Street, between Renforth Street and Neptune Street (c) Omeara Street, between Southwark Street and Union Street (d) Redcross Way, at it’s junction with Union Street 3.
The alternative route for affected traffic will be as indicated by the signs displayed
4.
Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, so far as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.
5.
The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.
6.
The works will be in operation for (2a) 29th – 30th May (2b) 30th – 31st May (2c) 30th – 31st May (2d) 30th May
7.
Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk
Dated this 11th May 2023 Ian Law Traffic Manager London Borough of Southwark Network Management Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth 160 Tooley Street PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref: (2a) 6500/ HHH-02-19-290523 (2b) 6498/LBSCR12943 (2c) 6506/BMJ-01-16-300523 (2d) BMJ01-16-300523 Notice of Application to Vary a Premises Licence made under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003 Please take notice that I / we The Lord Brock Trust t/a The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret have made application to Southwark Council to vary the Premises Licence in respect of The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, St Thomas Church, 9A St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9RY The proposed variation is as follows: To extend the permitted hours and activities Days
Start time
Finish time
The supply of alcohol:
Monday to Sunday
10:30
21:30
The provision of regulated entertainment:
Monday to Sunday
10:30
21:30
Opening hours:
Monday to Sunday
08:00
22:00
A copy of the application, environmental statement and other documents required by the EIA Regulations are also available for public inspection, free of charge, during normal office hours for at LIBRARY, DEPTFORD LOUNGE, 9 GIFFIN STREET, LONDON, SE8 4RJfor a period of 42 days from the date of the first notice 12/04/2023.
A register of all applications made within the Southwark area is maintained by: The Licensing Service, Hub 1, 3rd Floor, 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH
Copies of the same documents may also be inspected free of charge, during normal office hours and by prior appointment at the offices of the MMO, Lancaster House, Newcastle upon Tyne, during the same period.
A record of this application may be inspected by visiting the office during normal office hours by appointment on 020 7525 2000; details are also available on our website at http://app.southwark.gov.uk/licensing/licenseregister.asp
If printed copies of the above documents are requested, a charge (not exceeding reasonable copying costs) may be payable.
It is open to any interested party to make representations about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Service at the office address given above (or by email via licensing@southwark.gov.uk) and be received by the Service within a period of 28 days starting the day after the date shown below.
Representations in respect of the application should ordinarily be made by: - Visiting the MMO public register at https://marinelicensing.marinemanagement.org.uk/mmofo x5/fox/live/MMO_PUBLIC_REGISTER/search area=3 and accessing the `make a comment section of case reference MLA/2022/00501. However, we will also accept representations via the following formats: - By email to marine.consents@marinemanagement.org.uk; or alternatively - By letter addressed to Marine Management Organisation, Lancaster House, Hampshire Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 7YH. In all cases, correspondence must: - Be received within 42 days of the date of the first notice 12/04/2023; - Quote the case reference [Insert MLA/2022/00501]; and - include an address to which correspondence relating to the representation or objection may be sent. Representations received from members of the public will be dealt with in accordance with Schedule 5 of the EIA Regulations. Copies of written representations received by MMO will be sent to the applicant and may also be made publicly available. The MMO is an appropriate authority under the EIA Regulations. In determining the application, the MMO as appropriate authority will make the EIA consent decision for the project. The MMO will also make a decision whether to grant regulatory approval (for a marine licence) under Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.
Note: It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. A person guilty of such offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. Date of application: 27th April 2023
To p l a c e a p u b l i c notice, please email em@southwark n e w s. c o. u k
Access all published Our weekly deadline is n o t i c e s : w w w. s o u t h w a r k n e w s . c o . u k / 2pm ever y Tuesday public-notices
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
www.southwarknews.co.uk
PUBLIC NOTICES 25
LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 (as amended) PLANNING (LISTED BUILDINGS AND CONSERVATION AREAS) ACT 1990 (as amended) The planning applications listed below can be viewed on the planning register at https://planning.southwark.gov.uk/online-applications/ You can use facilities at your local library or 'My Southwark Service Points' to access the website. How to comment on this application: You should submit your comments via the above link. Comments received will be made available for public viewing on the website. All personal information will be removed except your postal address. Online comments submitted without an email address will not be acknowledged and those marked 'confidential' will not be considered. Written comments can be submitted to; Southwark Council, Chief executive's department, Planning division, Development Management, PO Box 64529, London SE1 5LX. Reason for publicity. The applications are advertised for the reasons identified by the following codes: AFFECT - development affecting character or appearance of a nearby conservation area; OR development affecting setting of a nearby listed building(s); DEP - departure from the development plan; EIA - environmental impact assessment (these applications are accompanied by an environmental statement a copy of which may be obtained from the Council - there will be a charge for the copy); MAJ - major planning application; STDCA - development within a conservation area; STDLB - works to or within the site of a listed building; GOODWIN HOUSE NUNHEAD ESTATE NUNHEAD CRESCENT LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 3PG (Ref: 23/AP/0540) Demolition of the existing garages and construction of a comprehensive development to provide 20 new council social rented homes; comprising 6 single storey and two storey mews dwellings to the north-east (Block F1), 5 storey building containing 8 residential units facing Nunhead Lane (Block F2) and a 4 storey building containing 6 residential units facing Banfield Road (Block G) including provision of 2 new car parking spaces, landscaping, cycle parking and refuse storage. Reason(s) for publicity: MAJ (Contact: Kerri Simpson 020 7525 3487) ARCH 213 STONEY STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 9AD (Ref: 23/AP/1215) Display of 1x 'halo' illuminated fascia sign and 1x externally illuminated projecting sign. (Within: Borough High Street CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Louise Dinsdale 07513137967) BLOCK C, (FORMER MULBERRY BUSINESS PARK), ON THE CORNER OF MULBERRY WALK AND PRINTWORKS STREET (Ref: 23/AP/0543) Construction of a Part 13/Part 14 storey building (over basement) with a maximum height of 51m AOD to provide 135 coliving/shared living rooms with associated internal and external amenity space (Sui
generis) together with ground and first floor commercial units (Class E), with ancillary refuse/cycle stores, servicing areas, landscaping, associated public realm works and provision of 2 disabled car parking spaces. Reason(s) for publicity: MAJ (Contact: Gemma Usher 020 7525 7935) 59 BURBAGE ROAD LONDON SOUTHWARK SE24 9HB (Ref: 23/AP/1200) Installation of air source heat pump with acoustic enclosure in front garden and installation of air conditioning heat pump at end of rear garden. (Within: Dulwich Village CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Agneta Kabele 07548097486) 138A LYNDHURST WAY LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 4PT (Ref: 23/AP/1244) Replacement of existing basement Flat A Upvc entrance door with a new Permadoor Larkin style Composite entrance door. (Within: Holly Grove CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Michelle Meskell ) OVERY HOUSE WEBBER ROW ESTATE WEBBER ROW LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 8QX (Ref: 23/AP/1260) Installation of the Community Fibre system for 25 units in total. 25 units at Overy House, Webber Row).This is as a direct result of demand for true ultrafast fibre optic broadband services. Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Sandy Ng )
Please take notice that I / we Eraldo Lacka Have made application to Southwark Council for a new Premises Licence in respect of In Mayfair, 193 Lower Road, SE16 2LW
ARCHES 36-39 AMERICA STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK (Ref: 23/AP/0998) Installation of 4no. non-illuminated projecting flag signage (0.45mx 0.45mx 0.04m) for each arch along the America Street elevation. (Within: Union Street CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Hajnalka Kurti 020 7525 3701) Dated: 09 May 2023 - comments to be received within 21 days of this date. STEPHEN PLATTS - Director of Planning and Growth
HISTORIC CHURCHES COMMITTEE FOR THE DIOCESES OF SOUTHWARK, ARUNDEL & BRIGHTON, PORTSMOUTH, PLYMOUTH AND CLIFTON
The relevant licensable activities and proposed times to be carried on, or on from the premises are Days
Start time
Finish time
Mon - Thursday Friday & Saturday Sunday
11:00 11:00 11:00
23:00 23:45 22:00
A register of all applications made within the Southwark area is maintained by: The Licensing Service, Hub 1, 3rd Floor, 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH A record of this application may be inspected by visiting the office during normal office hours by appointment on 020 7525 2000; details are also available on our website at http://app.southwark.gov.uk/licensing/licenseregister.asp It is open to any interested party to make representations about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Service at the office address given above (or by email via licensing@southwark.gov.uk) and be received by the Service within a period of 28 days starting the day after the date shown below. Note: It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. A person guilty of such offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
Date of application: 24th April 2023
1 TISDALL PLACE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE17 1QQ (Ref: 23/AP/1257) Existing terraced house to be reconfigured internally and upgraded thermally including new dormer and rooflights. (Within: The Mission CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: James Baddeley )
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 The Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (England) Order 2010 (SI 2010 1176) Ecclesiastical Exemption Decree and Canon 1276
Notice of Application for a Premises Licence made under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003
The supply of alcohol:
37 - 39 QUEEN ELIZABETH STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 2BT (Ref: 23/AP/1112) Formation of new refuse/bin store within the footprint of the existing building; to include the creation of a new access doorway through an existing window opening. (Within: Tower Bridge CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: James Baddeley )
PRESS NOTICE Application reference #1353 dated 07/04/2023 has been received by the above Committee for approval of the following works to an exempt ecclesiastical building. 1. Our Lady of Sorrows (Church) - Peckham. Grade II (Listing Number: 1376588) 2. Works Proposed: The work on the south facing roofs will include reroofing using Penhryn slates (approx. 1700) on new battens of felt using natural slate. It will also include replacement lead flashings, repairs and renewal of the natural stone copings, repair or renewal of the cast iron rainwater pipes and gutters all to match the original building. 3. Applicant: Rev Hugh Allan - Norbertine Canons - Priory of Our Lady of Sorrows, Friary Road, London Peckham, Greater London, SE15 1RH Details of the application may be inspected by visiting https://www.catholic-historicchurches.org.uk/applications/southern-1353. Any representations relating to these proposals must be submitted within 28 days of the date of this notice, quoting the application reference number (#1353), to: J F Brotherton Fergus Brotherton - Secretary Historic Churches Committee for the Dioceses of Southwark, Arundel & Brighton, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Clifton Email: secretary@hccsouthern.org.uk Address: Secretary, Southern Historic Churches Committee, 12 Granville Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1ER Date: 03/05/2023 The Archdiocese of Southwark is a registered charity no. 117305
To place a notice, please email em@southwarknews.co.uk Cut off is 2pm every Tuesday for that Thursday’s publication
26 SPORT www.southwarknews.co.uk/sport
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Twenty-two-year-old holds out for more than two hours to help champions claim draw
Kia Oval side are unbeaten this season
Essex (314 & 198) drew with Surrey (240 & 153-7) By Martin Smith at Chelmsford sport@southwarknews.co.uk JAMIE SMITH defied Essex for more than two-and-a-half hours to help Surrey salvage a draw against the odds at Chelmsford last weekend.
The 22-year-old right-hander dug in after Surrey were reduced to 1036 with 25 overs still to hold out and retain their unbeaten start to the LV= Insurance County Championship season. Surrey had been asked to chase down a not inconceivable 273 in 54 overs. However, once Ollie Pope had departed for a 58-ball 47, the reigning champion’s hopes of victory evaporated, and they were happy to still be there at the close on 153-7,
Smith unbeaten on 39 from 126 balls. In setting the target Essex had collapsed alarmingly from 116-2 to 198 all out in 16 overs with Jordan Clark (4-58) and Sean Abbott (3-50) sharing the wickets. On a day of sunshine after the rain, Surrey’s response got off to the worst possible start when Dom Sibley hung out his bat to Sam Cook’s second ball and Simon Harmer claimed at second slip. It didn’t get much better. Harmer took an even better catch in the same position to dismiss Rory Burns on the stroke of tea. Burns had played the anchor role, scoring 10 off 43 balls, but flashed at Doug Bracewell and Harmer grabbed at full stretch a ball that looked to have gone past him. Pope made Bracewell pay with a towering six from an over that went for 15, but when the England batsman had reached 47 from 58
his rain-interrupted over from 23-andballs, he drove Shane Snater to Nick a-half hours earlier and knocked over Browne in the covers and suddenly Sir Alastair Cook’s off-stump with the Surrey needed exactly 200 from 34 second ball. overs. The introduction of Clark seemed Will Jacks reduced that by six from to unsettle Tom Westley, and after his third ball but fell soon after when narrowly avoiding getting a touch he chipped Snater to short midwicket to several outside off-stump, he did for nine. finally get a nick to one and was caught Harmer was not called upon until behind. the 29th over, much later than usual, While Westley and Browne had at which point Sean Abbott’s eyes lit taken a safety-first approach while up and he promptly lofted the first adding 38 in 14 overs, the incoming ball to wide mid-on. Two balls later Dan Lawrence showed a contrasting Ben Foakes was caught in two minds, approach, advancing down the wicket withdrew his bat and was lbw. and depositing his fifth ball out of the Smith and Cameron Steel produced a ground over long leg. sterling rearguard action for an hour, The third-wicket partnership scoring just 25 runs between them, accelerated the run-rate with 54 runs before Steel was trapped on his crease in 10 overs before Lawrence stepped by Bracewell. Smith then kept Clark outside off-stump in an attempt to out of the firing line as the game ebbed swat Gus Atkinson over square leg and towards its inevitable conclusion. left all three stumps exposed. At that The day started with Surrey on the Essex from wereleft 116-3 and a lead of front foot as Kemar Roach completed Ellie Shearer in yellow point belt, second
190 with 72 overs remaining. Browne followed almost immediately for 47 when he went to pull Atkinson over extra cover but mistimed and picked out Jacks less than halfway back to the boundary. With Surrey scattering their field to all points on the boundary’s edge in an attempt to stem the runs, Essex’s lower order fell on their own swords. Michael Pepper’s brief cameo lasted six balls when he took a massive swipe at Abbott and holed out to deep third man. Matt Critchley perished when he pulled Clark over square leg where Smith ran in to take a tumbling catch. Bracewell attempted a big heave and skied Abbott into the covers where the bowler took the catch and Harmer handed Abbott a third wicket by picking out long leg. Clark wrapped up the innings with the last two wickets. Surrey host Middlesex in their next Division One match from May 11-14.
Gareth Batty: ‘We showed some real good fighting spirit’ By John Kelly johnk@southwarknews.co.uk SURREY head coach Gareth Batty hailed “magnificent” Jamie Smith after the 22-year-old’s efforts to help the side earn a draw against Essex.
Smith held out for 25 overs as defending champions Surrey remained unbeaten in the LV= Insurance County Championship this season. “We definitely play every game to win and until that last 25 overs we were still playing to win,” Batty said. “But whilst I can still breathe, we are not going to give people easy points – that is not going to be our business. We expect to work hard
for every point we get, so we expect the opposition to work hard for theirs. “Twenty-five overs against an overseas spinner [Simon Harmer] was obviously a very fine spell. Jamie was magnificent and Steel played it nicely for a while. “We were always going to a point knowing that the wicket was interesting, shall we say, it certainly wasn’t flat by any stretch of the imagination. England’s best young player [Ollie Pope] getting a ball bouncing off a length at 75mph into the sightscreen is also an interesting look. “But we certainly had intent to score the runs, we gave it a decent crack and we had to shut out and fight for that draw in the end.
“There’s no getting away from it, the rain we had [Saturday] was a real positive for us. It probably meant the game was more loaded in our favour than Essex going into [Sunday] morning because of the connotations that could happen – which is harsh on them but positive on us. As it turned out they were noses ahead going into the last innings. The weather possibly flicked it for us. “But they are a good team and will be there or thereabouts – and we knew that, and we knew we had to respect that. We went to a point and we just went, ‘this is a bit too dangerous now’. We showed some real good fighting spirit to hold on and some real skill.
“Gus [Atkinson, eight wickets in the game] has taken his chance. We know what improvements he’s made over the winter, both physically and skills and it’s not a surprise for us he’s come in and done it. It’s wonderful for the lad to come in and get the reward and wickets. It just shows our strength in depth. He wasn’t playing because of players in front of him, but the opportunity came because of the feetup for Dan Worrall and Lawesy [Tom Lawes] and he’s absolutely shown us all how ready he is to be performing for us on a regular basis – and he will do.” Essex head coach Anthony McGrath added: “It’s been a bit of a story of our
year. We’ve lost so much time to rain – the Lancs game here and Kent. We had been in such a good position coming into Saturday and the rain scuppered our chances because we were in the driving seat. “Having said that, we spoke [Sunday] morning about trying to force a result. It was never going to be easy to score enough runs and leave enough overs and we knew it was going to be tough to have to bowl them out in 50-odd overs but I thought the way we went about it was exceptional. But you have to give credit to them because they played Simon well at the end. “But we pushed them right to the very end so I was very proud of our efforts.”
Photo by Mark Sandom
Surrey’s Smith defies Essex
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
www.southwarknews.co.uk/sport
Photo by Rob Avis
Southwark's London Olympians maintain perfect 2023 start Olympians go through their plays
sport@southwarknews.co.uk THE LONDON Olympians won their 2023 home opener in a high-scoring encounter with the Norwich Devils in Blackheath last weekend.
The Olympian defence started aggressively, forcing big plays on each of the Devils' first four possessions. Gavin Alexis-Ebanks recovered a fumble, Ivo de Greef and Shadrach Tshibola made interceptions, and Connor Clark sacked the Norwich quarter-back for a safety. The Olympian offence was in form, too, with Michael Alonga II and Chucky Benjamin each running in first-quarter touchdowns, both converted by kicker George Whittington. Leading 16-0, the hosts appeared to have scored a second safety when their special teams tackled the Norwich punter in his own endzone, but a
Pinch of Salt is bad luck for Lionesses
Walworth fighter takes dig at rival By John Kelly johnk@southwarknews.co.uk RICHARD RIAKPORHE has upped the ante ahead of a potential fight against London rival Lawrence Okoli.
Southwark Park-based side send Norwich Devils packing By Sport Reporter
SPORT 27
facemask penalty gave the Devils a first down. The visitors capitalised with a long touchdown drive to force their way back into the game at 16-8. The Southwark Park-based O’s responded with a long drive of their own, ending with Bleu Thompson's touchdown catch. Freddy Ashe's twopointer restored the sixteen-point cushion. But the resurgent Devils scored again to claw it back to 24-16 at half-time. The Olympians struck quickly to start the third quarter. A long kick return from Thompson led to a Chimoi JayVince Young touchdown catch. Ashe's second two-pointer of the afternoon extended the hosts' lead. Ashton Campbell and Harold Carew intercepted the Norwich quarter-back to keep the visitors' free-wheeling offence at bay. The aggressive London defence also recorded three sacks on the day.
By John Kelly johnk@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL LIONESSES lost 3-1 to Saltdean United in the London & South East Regional Women’s Football League Premier Division at St Paul’s last weekend.
The Lionesses were 2-0 down with
Jay-Vince Young caught his second touchdown pass from quarter-back Aaron Griffiths early in the fourth quarter, with Thompson's two-point reception forging a commanding 40-16 lead. De Greef broke up a fourth down pass attempt on Norwich's next drive. A consolation Devils touchdown late in the game wasn't enough to prevent the Olympians moving to 2-0 this season. Olympians head coach Murray Dumas said: “As expected, the Norwich Devils played a hard game that pushed us all the way. It was a great result for us considering all the adversity before the game we experienced. “We now have a few weeks to reflect and prepare for what will be a challenging four-game run. The job is not over and there is work to be done across all phases, but to say I am happy where we are would be an understatement.” four minutes to go when Maisie Joyce got a goal back, but the visitors made sure of the points with a third in the first minute of injury-time. Molly Hill with a brace and Caitlin Sullivan scored for Saltdean. Millwall dropped to sixth in the table as they were overtaken by their opponents. Jack Wheeler’s side have two more
The hosts racked up 40 points
league game left this season, the first at home to south-east London rivals Dulwich Hamlet this Sunday. The Hamlet are fourth in the table, six points ahead of Millwall, as they play their last game. Kick-off is at 1.30pm. Meanwhile, Otesha Charles has been voted the Lionesses’ player of the season.
Walworth’s Riakporhe is targeting a world title fight this year and is waiting to see what the outcome will be of Okolie’s bout against fellow Briton Chris Billam-Smith later this month. Riakporhe wasn’t impressed with Okolie’s win against David Light. Okolie retained his WBO cruiserweight title, but it was on points rather than the expected stoppage. “I fell asleep, I was bored, I was frustrated and tired and I was sick and tired. I was literally sick and that's why I didn't show up,” Riakporhe said. “I wanted to come to the fight but I was in bed, everybody was contacting me on my phone. “That actually p****d me off even more because I was expecting something explosive. You have to bear in mind I’m a fan, talking from a fan’s perspective. “Even though I’m a professional, I’m a fan and I didn’t get my money’s worth even though I didn’t pay for it. “At the same time I’m in [Okolie’s] corner because I understand how it is when you're coming back off a lay-off and to add to that he also had some difficulties behind closed doors with contractual issues and stuff like that, so you have to give him a bit of leeway. “I don’t like to criticise fighters, I’m a fighter myself and I’m my biggest critic. I criticise myself, but he has to do better and it’s only for the best interests of our division, himself and myself, because people want to see a potential clash between us. “The better he performs, the better for me, the more money in my pocket, the more money in his pocket, it makes sense. Hopefully he puts on a better performance next time.” Riakporhe explained how he would approach a potential showdown with Hackney’s Okolie. “You've got to rough him up, take him to the streets, take it old school,” Riakporhe said. “I don't need to think too much about it. “To be honest, I’m a decent technical fighter, I can beat a lot of people technically, but I can smash these guys up as well and go old school. I know exactly what I am. “My type of style is a very dangerous style because I can box and if things don’t well, I’ll just fight you. I’ve got power with both hands, I’m fearless, I know what I am. “The question is how can he deal with me. That should be the question.”
28 MILLWALL www.newsatden.co.uk/ championship report Millwall - 3 Watmore 8’, 37’, Burke 39’ Blackburn - 4 Wharton 22’, Rankin-Costello 51’, Brereton 63’, 86’
Date: Monday May 8, 2023 Referee: Craig Pawson Attendance: 17,588 Man of the Match: Ben Brereton Diaz
By Alex Jones at The Den alexj@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL’S HOPES of securing a top-six finish on the final day of the season were crushed by a 4-3 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers.
The Lions entered the game knowing that a win would have confirmed their place in the play-offs while a draw would see them relying on results elsewhere. A defeat was always going to prove fatal regardless of how Sunderland and West Brom performed against Preston North End and Swansea City respectively, piling the pressure onto Gary Rowett’s men. They knew what they had to do and started fast. Oliver Burke and Tom Bradshaw both missed chances in the opening stages of the game as Millwall looked for an early goal. It only took eight minutes for them to find the back of the net as Zian Flemming’s long throw-in was flicked into the path of Duncan Watmore, who rifled the ball against the crossbar. It looked like Blackburn were able to clear the danger after it bounced back into play, but referee Craig Pawson indicated that it had crossed the line. They were unfortunate not to be further ahead seconds later after winning a freekick on the edge of the area. Flemming hit the post before Bradshaw tapped the rebound into an empty net, but the flag was raised for offside. It gave Blackburn confidence and they started to create chances, with the equaliser coming in the 22nd minute when Adam Wharton curled a low shot into the bottom corner from distance, stunning the home fans. Rovers continued to surge forward, with their best chance coming through Joe Rankin-Costello, who fired a low corner into the gloves of George Long. Soon after, Millwall launched a counter with Burke, who fired a long ball towards Watmore. Harry Pickering beat the forward to the ball but headed backwards behind Aynsley Pears, allowing him to rush in and tap the ball into an empty net to restore his side’s lead in the 37th minute. Two minutes later, the Lions extended their advantage as Burke was played into
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Millwall blow their top-six dream Lions slip out of the play-off places after devastating defeat to Blackburn
Millwall finished this season with a lower points total than last year the box down the right after Wharton misplaced his pass. It allowed the Werder Bremen loanee to confidently tuck his shot into the bottom corner as The Den erupted just before half-time. From there on, it looked like the task was simple, but Blackburn got themselves back into the game just five minutes after the restart when George Saville fouled substitute Tyrhys Dolan around 25 yards out from goal. Ben Brereton Diaz forced Long into an impressive save, but Rankin-Costello
was able to rush in and force the ball over the line after a goalmouth scramble. Rovers’ pressure soon became suffocating and Millwall struggled to cope. A neat move from the visitors allowed Brereton Diaz to curl in an equaliser shortly after the hour mark, bending a powerful effort past Long from outside the box. He clipped the post just seconds after his goal, with Dolan unable to direct the rebound into an empty net. Rowett set up his side to go for the kill in
Complacency did not kill Millwall’s play-off push'
Boss argues that Lions never saw 3-1 lead as ‘job done’ By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk GARY ROWETT does not think that complacency played a part in Millwall’s 4-3 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, stressing that the circumstances of the game made it tricky to navigate.
The Lions boasted a two-goal cushion heading into half-time on Monday afternoon, but a 51st-minute strike from Joe Rankin-Costello coupled with a brace from Ben Brereton Diaz saw them lose their final game of the season.
Most Millwall fans probably believed that the players would comfortably be able to see out their 3-1 lead, having maintained a strong record of picking up points from winning positions this season. However, their second-half collapse led to some people highlighting complacency as a possible issue, although Rowett is adamant that this was not the case. “I certainly didn’t think it was job done,” he said. “There’s never a ‘job done’ in games like this. You can be 3-1 up but you still have to do the right things. “When a team like Blackburn had to
win the game, you knew that they would take a gamble if they got another goal and make the game uncomfortable for us. “3-1 up against a team like Blackburn, we spoke at half-time about discipline and doing the right things. There’s always a temptation with a possessionbased team to go chasing and hunting them, leaving a bit of space. “If you actually look at the goals, they’re just poor goals in little moments. Now probably isn’t the right time to try and find what the reason was – we haven’t managed to get it over the line."
the final stages, changing to an attacking formation as they searched for a late winner to guide them into the top six. However, all it did was open up the game even further for Blackburn to score a late winner after substitute Tyler Burey hit the post. They launched a quick counter up the other end of the pitch, with Brereton Diaz on hand once again to convert with a clinical finish to break Millwall hearts and hand Sunderland the final play-off place.
Millwall: 4-2-3-1: Long; McNamara, Hutchinson, Cooper, Styles; Mitchell, Saville (Voglsammer 82’); Burke (Burey 73’), Flemming, Watmore (Malone 73’); Bradshaw (Bennett 82’)
Blackburn: 4-2-3-1: Pears; RankinCostello, Carter, Hyam, Pickering; Travis (Brittain 46’), Wharton; Thomas (Dolan 46’), Szmodics (Dack 90’), Brereton (Ayala 89’); Hedges
Monday’s defeat to Blackburn Rovers was just the second time that Millwall have lost after scoring first
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
www.newsatden.co.uk
MILLWALL 29
Zian: ‘I was always confident – but I improved mentally’
Millwall attacker ‘proud’ of his debut season in English football EXCLUSIVE By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk ZIAN FLEMMING is delighted with how he has adapted to life in English football after scoring fifteen goals in his maiden Championship campaign.
The Dutchman arrived for a club-record fee from Eredivisie side Fortuna Sittard last summer, quickly becoming one of the standout players in the division. Across 43 games, he scored fifteen goals and provided three assists, making it his best output in front of goal in a season in his professional career so far. While the Lions missed out on his main aim of securing a top-six finish, he revealed that he achieved his “personal goal” of becoming a key member of the firstteam squad, combining with striker Tom Bradshaw to score more than half of the club’s goals this season. This is especially impressive considering that Flemming had to adapt to a totally new life away from the Netherlands, with the 24-year-old stressing that he has been made to feel welcome in his first year in South London.
“I’m really happy and a bit proud of how I managed to adjust myself to the step forward,” Flemming told the News before the last game of the season against Blackburn Rovers. “I jumped into a very specific league where the demands and the intensity on your body is so high. “I’m quite happy with how quickly the adjustment was and how I became a key player for Millwall – that was my personal goal. “It hasn’t been easy. Maybe I was a bit frustrated at the start because of my injury, but when I came back, I found that everything went really well. I just needed that first goal against Blackpool and I felt very comfortable. “From there, it’s been really good. Everyone at the club has helped me and I like to think that I’ve helped them too. It wasn’t easy playing away from the Netherlands for the first time but they made it better. “I feel like I improved as a player both on the pitch and mentally. I was always a confident player at Sittard, but maybe doing it in the Championship is different. “It really makes me excited to be here, because the overall feeling at the club is so good.”
Zian Flemming finished as one of the top scorers in the league this season
Millwall stars recognised after impressive campaign Lions clapped off at The Den after End of Season awards presentation By Alex Jones
alexj@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL PLAYERS were presented with their awards for the 2022-23 campaign after Monday’s 4-3 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers.
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The presentation came after the club’s End of Season Awards Night, which took place at The Den’s 1885 Club three days earlier. Billy Mitchell was awarded with the PFA Community Champion of the Year award for his volunteer work, including his regular appearances at the club’s coffee mornings that help tackle loneliness in the local area. Romain Esse picked up the Young Player of the Year award for his impressive performances since coming into the first-team squad at the end of last year, making regular appearances off the bench towards the latter stages of the campaign,
while Zian Flemming was recognised for his stunning longrange strike against Rotherham United in early October. All eyes were on the Player of the Year award, with George Saville finishing third after yet another consistent campaign in the centre of midfield. While Tom Bradshaw won the Junior Lions Player of the Year award, he was pipped to the MSC Player of the Year award by Flemming, whose fifteen goals and three assists saw him become a key figure in Millwall’s play-off push in what was his first campaign in English football. The players collected their awards after Monday’s disappointing defeat before completing a lap of appreciation in front of supporters at The Den. Here are all the winners of this year’s awards:
Junior Lions Player of the Year: Tom Bradshaw PFA Community Champion of the Year: Billy Mitchell
Chairman's Unsung Hero of the Year: Dean Maher Lionesses Player of the Season: Otesha Charles Goal of the Season: Zian Flemming v Rotherham United (a) Young Player of the Year: Romain Esse
MSC Player of the Season Third Place: George Saville
MSC Player of the Season -Second Place: Tom Bradshaw MSC Player of the Season WINNER: Zian Flemming
30 MILLWALL www.newsatden.co.uk/
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
Millwall season review 2022-23 By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk AFTER 46 Championship games, it is fair to say that Millwall’s season is hard to judge.
The Lions set out to achieve a top-six finish and pushed the boat out over the summer in their recruitment. The departure of talisman Jed Wallace, while inevitable, was a blow, especially when he joined Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion instead of stepping up to the Premier League. Millwall broke their transfer record to replace Wallace when they paid £1.7million for Zian Flemming from Fortuna Sittard. Benik Afobe and George Honeyman were brought through the door three days later, and it was clear that the club’s summer transfer business had truly begun. All in all, Millwall signed eight players before the transfer window shut on September 1. Leeds United loanees Charlie Cresswell and Jamie Shackleton added some youth to an experienced squad, while Andreas Voglsammer arrived with extensive experience of the German Bundesliga and a burning desire to try a new challenge. Callum Styles joined on deadline day after the Lions had beaten numerous Championship rivals to his signature. The club’s start to the Championship campaign was poor. An impressive 2-0 win at home to Stoke City on the opening day of the season did whet the appetite - especially with centreback Cresswell scoring two goals on his debut - but the Lions ended up losing four of their next six league games and were eliminated from the League Cup by League One outfit Cambridge United in the first round. Wins against Cardiff City and Blackpool came either side of a nightmarish defeat at home to London rivals Queens Park Rangers in September. But it was a 2-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers on October 1 that finally prompted boss Gary Rowett to change formation, from a back five to 4-2-3-1. The improvement was clear from the very first game, as Flemming’s longrange strike helped Millwall earn a point on the road against Rotherham United, the first of five games unbeaten including wins over expected promotion contenders Middlesbrough, Watford and West Brom. The 4-2 win away at Preston North End was the highlight of their preWorld Cup run, with Flemming’s hat-trick signalling his arrival in the Championship, guiding the Lions into the play-off places ahead of the break and setting them up to return before the rest of the division in their postponed clash against Sunderland. Things did not go to plan, however, and they were handed a 3-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light. The festive period was hit and miss, with a 2-0 win against Watford on Boxing Day arguably the highlight as seventeen-year-old Romain Esse got his first minutes in a Millwall shirt. They started the new year with a bang by beating Rotherham United 3-0 at The Den, but Sheffield United arrived in SE16 less than a week later and knocked them out of the FA Cup. Millwall were expected to be busy
Tom Bradshaw scored three of his seventeen league goals in a 3-0 win at home to Watford
Rollercoaster campaign ends in derailment Lions will use summer to analyse how they can bridge play-off gap
A run of two wins in their final eight games ultimately saw them miss out on the play-offs
Millwall matched their highest league finish since returning to the Championship in 2017
Two stoppage-time own-goals helped Millwall come from behind to draw away at Swansea
in the January transfer window, with numerous names linked throughout the month. After Afobe’s departure the Lions agreed a deal for Hibernian centre-forward Kevin Nisbet, but the move fell through. The Lions did bring Oliver Burke back to South London on loan from Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, while Duncan Watmore was signed from Championship rivals Middlesbrough. Results remained inconsistent until February, when a sensational run of
form saw Rowett’s men move up to fifth after earning four points against the top two, with a win against Sheffield United and draw at home to Burnley. Striker Tom Bradshaw was named Championship payer of the month, but the positive mood took a hit before the March international break after a 1-0 home defeat against relegationthreatened Huddersfield Town. It was their form in April that ultimately derailed their season. Draws against Luton Town and West Brom
were far from disastrous, but defeats against Hull City, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic meant Millwall were holding on to their place in the playoffs by the skin of their teeth. A 3-2 win away at Blackpool on the penultimate match-day weekend saw the play-off race swing back in their favour. At half-time against Blackburn Rovers on Monday, Rowett’s side were fifth. Few could have foreseen then they would finish eighth after a disastrous second half. There was something different about Millwall this season, perhaps an expectation for them to be in the top six after three consecutive campaigns when they were close to it. However, when it mattered, they were unable to deliver. On paper, the Lions had arguably the easiest run-in in the division, making them one of the firm favourites to finally bridge the gap to the play-offs. However, the pressure intensified and perhaps impacted performances, while injuries to the likes of Cresswell, Honeyman and Murray Wallace left them light on numbers. Deeming their season to be a failure
would be harsh, though, especially as they missed out on their goal so narrowly. Their annual improvement certainly continued into this season, but they simply did not have enough to get over the line. Questions will be asked as to what went wrong, and Rowett has admitted that the next few weeks will be used to analyse the campaign and learn how to improve next season. Millwall didn’t get that out-and-out striker they wanted in January, and injuries late in the campaign didn’t help. Fans will likely look back on the season with fond memories, be that Millwall’s incredible comeback against Swansea City last August, when they scored twice in injury-time to earn a 2-2 draw, their two wins against Watford or the fact that they had two players hitting double-digit goal tallies in the league in Flemming and Bradshaw. There is no denying that, while the campaign had its ups and downs, it was a lot of fun to be involved in. Ultimately, it all needs to be backed up by results, and the Lions will undoubtedly be expected to improve and go one further next season.
Southwark News, Thursday May 11 2023
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MILLWALL 31
Millwall ‘have to feel pain’ after harrowing HOME DEFEAT to Rovers
Gary Rowett admits it will take time to get over crushing Championship finale By Alex Jones
Billy Mitchell is renowned for his big work ethic and he will aim to hit the ground running in pre-season
alexj@southwarknews.co.uk GARY ROWETT is aware that he will need to lift his players after Millwall’s heart-breaking defeat on the final day of the season knocked them out of the play-off places.
The Lions knew that they would secure a top-six finish if they beat Blackburn Rovers on Monday afternoon. They took a 3-1 lead into the half-time break, but they were left stunned after three second-half goals from Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side, which meant Sunderland joined Middlesbrough, Luton Town and Coventry City in the play-offs. Rowett’s men had been in a fantastic position since the start of the calendar year as they earned a shot at promotion to the Premier League. Despite their blip in April, they were in control of their own destiny heading into the final day of the season and looked nailed on to achieve their goal with just 45 minutes of the campaign remaining, but it was not to be. The scenes after the game were that of dejection and despair, and the manager knows that it will take time for the squad to get to grips with how the play-off bid ended ahead of next season. “I think it’s quite difficult at this stage,” Rowett said. “We always knew that, after this game, we’d either be in the play-offs or having to speak to the lads about the end of the season. “It’s never an easy scenario. If you’re a player, you’re just devastated that you
haven’t been able to take the next step. There are probably so many things going through your head about what you could’ve done differently or done better. “All I said to the players is that, in these moments, you have to feel a little bit of that pain and use it to think about
how you can be better. You have to use it as fire and motivation to be better. “We had our player of the season award on the pitch afterwards, and even the players getting them are kind of reluctant because they’re just thinking about the game. “We go and give the fans a clap
- I thought they’ve been brilliant throughout the season and throughout today - but again, it’s just that there’s a feeling of disappointment at the moment. “It’s very difficult to take that out of your head. In a couple of days’ time, when one or two of the lads are
probably sat on the beach somewhere, they’ll maybe start to reflect a little bit more and detach themselves emotionally to be able to do that. “At the moment, I think everyone at the club is disappointed that we got so close but couldn’t manage to get it over the line.”
Rowett believes pressure played a part in collapse
Millwall manager says high stakes made Championship finale hard to handle
By Alex Jones
alexj@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL PLAYERS struggled to deal with the pressure of their must-win Championship clash against Blackburn Rovers, manager Gary Rowett felt.
The Lions have often failed to win games when they have had their fate in their own hands
While the Lions looked to be in control heading into the second half of the game at 3-1 up, Joe Rankin-Costello’s goal in the 50th minute swung the momentum as the visitors pushed forward. Ben Brereton Diaz then struck twice to win the game as Rowett’s men failed to threaten in the dying stages, dropping out of the top six on the final day. With a sell-out crowd at The Den, most of whom were there in the hope of seeing Millwall achieve their goal,
there was clearly a level of expectation that got to the players in the second half as they looked to see out the game, and Rowett believes that they needed to be more “resilient” to get over the line. “When the second goal goes in, there’s always going to be a feeling of added pressure,” Rowett said. “If you’re a player, at that point, it’s that scenario where you almost play with a little bit of fear. I don’t necessarily think it was that. “At that stage of the game, you’ve just got to handle the moment. If you look at the whole season, we went down to Cardiff, went 1-0 up, shut the game up and made it very difficult. “The reality is that we’ve had some key injuries late on in the season that made it very difficult to change with
the right flexibility in games. We’ve had a lot of forwards available with hardly any defenders. “You’ve just got to go and be resilient, haven’t you? We haven’t conceded four goals in one game all season, I don’t think Blackburn have scored four goals in one game. “It shows you, maybe, what pressure does. It shows the magnitude of the game and we didn’t handle it well. “It’s not because the players didn’t want to, it’s not because they don’t want to get in the top six. Games sometimes throw different challenges and you deal with them or you don’t deal with them. “[Monday], we didn’t deal with them, and we have to try and work out the reasons why to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
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Boss: ‘We couldn’t have given any more’
Gary Rowett admits Millwall need to strengthen to go one better next season By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk GARY ROWETT felt that Millwall could not have done any more to secure a top-six finish this season - but admitted that they would need to strengthen over the summer if they are to challenge for promotion in 2023-24.
The Lions fell at the final hurdle after losing 4-3 at home to Blackburn Rovers last Monday afternoon. The defeat felt even more painful given the
circumstances, with the hosts leading 3-1 heading into the half-time break knowing that three points would have seen them achieve their goal regardless of results elsewhere. However, a second-half capitulation saw Rovers strike three times as both teams missed out on a place in the play-offs, with Sunderland’s 3-0 win away at Preston North End enough to see them move up to sixth. The reality is that Millwall’s play-off bid was not only lost on the final day of the season, but rather also after a
Late injury blow forced Lion’s hand By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL HAD to change their tactics for Monday’s defeat to Blackburn Rovers after losing Ryan Leonard to injury.
The versatile midfielder returned to the starting lineup for the Lions’ win at Blackpool, playing as a right centreback as Gary Rowett reverted to a back five after a string of poor results. The impressive performance at Bloomfield Road led to Millwall winning the match 3-2, with supporters expecting the manager to stick with the same team that relegated the Tangerines at the end of April. However, Leonard suffered another injury to his groin in the buildup to Monday’s Championship finale, ruling him out of the game. As a result, Rowett admitted that he had to move back to the 4-2-3-1 formation that his side have played throughout the majority of the season, giving them limited defensive options on the bench. “Lenny felt his groin,” he revealed. “He’ll be out for seven to ten days, but in a game like this, it meant that we had no alternative other than changing to a back four, “We had Shacks [Jamie Shackleton] on the bench but I didn’t think he was right. I was concerned about putting him on with his foot being a problem. “He should’ve been out for three or four weeks but he put himself forward, he wanted to play. I think that’s incredible toughness to want to go and do that, but you’ve got to be sure.”
The Lions finished just one point outside the top six after their defeat to Blackburn Rovers disappointing run in April when they won just two of their seven league games. However, Rowett was keen to stress how hard the players have worked over the last nine months, adding that work will need to be done over the summer to help them go one better next season. “I don’t think this team could’ve given any more over the season,” Rowett said. “I don’t think they could’ve worked any harder, I don’t think they could’ve been any more
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together. They’ve been so spirited. “We need to go and improve again, we need to go and push on again, we need to go and identify areas which have perhaps been a little bit problematic during the season. “We need to strengthen, it’s as simple as that, really. Sometimes, in games like this, you learn little things that you just need in the team. “I thought we were capable of it. I still think we should’ve been capable of it, but we have to accept that we got beaten.”
Ryan Leonard started just one of the Lions’ final six games due to a groin injury The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2014 was 83.5%