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Now Online at www.shirleylife.comand very soonNow Online at www.shirleylife.comand very soonNow Online at www.shirleylife.comand very soon in print

16 May 2011

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ContentsShirley Life 5

Care Direct UK 7

NOGs Column 9

Peter Howards Column 10Stuart Collins Column 12

Andrew Pellings Column 13

Charles Parks Column 15

Cicely Mary Barkerby Marzia 16

Wickham Studio Hair offers and tips 22

Trends: Tea dances 25

Giovannas Column: Journeys from Shirley 28Shirley Community Centre 31

Putting Photography in the frameby Andrew Dunsmore 36

The Goat Public House 38

Your library is not for closingby Mike Jackson 39

Fish Frames 40

More about Libraries 41

Shirley Library June Activities 4530th International Folk Dancing Festival 46

Appendix: Just in case you missed it 49

Editorial TeamTom Dunsmore, Jill Latter, Mike Jackson, Marzia Nicodemi-Ehikioya

(Editor), Russell Elliott (Advertising consultant), Peter Hacker (Financialconsultant), and Robert Dil (Graphic Design Consultant).

ContactsT: 07940 415532 E: shirleylife@rocketmail.com W: www.shirleylife.com

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The fourth issue ofShirley Life attracted a lotof readers and more and more residents areasking for a printed copy. We appreciate thatthere are still lots of people without internetaccess and we intend to go to print in the

Autumn with a run of 2,000 copies.

Shirley on the world map

We have the Shirley Windmill, lovingly tended by theFriends of the Shirley Windmill. Please visit theirnew website www.friendsofshirleywindmill.org.uk.We have two ponds (the secret one is one of thebest private ponds I have ever seen) but it is the

Shirley Poppy created by Rev. Wilks, Vicar of St.

Johns, that puts Shirley on the world map. I took thepicture on the left in 2010. Rev. Stiiv, the incumbent Vicar

of St. Johns, had some seeds planted on the grave of Rev. Wilks and someflowered. I will not go into pedantic descriptions of the poppy because it is clearthat the Shirley Poppy is quite different from the common poppy. It is such ashame that, whoever decided upon the Shirley Poppy sign by the Shirley Library,was unaware of the difference.The Shirley Poppy was drawn in 1923 by CicelyMary Barker, a Croydonian artist.

Shirley Life will celebrate her work in this issue and later in the year. Jill, Tom andI have put together a few unedited snippets and travelled around Croydon and

Sussex to find out more about the artist for you. We have met many people who

are interested in her work, and also Juliette Purkiss, a model for Miss Barkers

religious paintings. Our thanks go to Rev. Patricia Vowles of St. Georges, Waddon

and Fr. Keith Sylvia, Vicar of St. Andrews, Croydon for allowing pictures to be

taken. We also wish to express our gratitude to Reverend Eleanor Jackson of

Norbury Methodist Church who was instrumental in leading us to Local Studies

where Chris Bennett located the oil painting we were looking for. Georgina Young,Croydon Council Collections and Learning Manager, provided preciousinformation and set the record straight regarding inaccuracies that appear on the

web. Read about it in the article on page 16. Next monthTom will be interviewing

Juliette. Jill and I will report from Storrington, Sussex and the stained window no

longer in St. Edmunds Church, Croydon.

Mike Jackson, our new Team member,

Shirley Life is pleased to welcome a new Team member. Mike Jackson edits the

Newsletter of The Croydon Writers and has a keen interest in social and local history.

He is widely travelled and writes witty and interesting short stories.

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Burglaries in Shirley

After laborious and protracted written exchanges, we will be meeting a member

of the senior management Team of Croydon police. We hope to report that the

promise made by Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Roberts to repair

the confidence of residents who feel let down by the police was kept.

TrendsWe welcome suggestions from readersregarding trends and invite them topromote their business. If you know of anytea dances in the Croydon area, let usknow. We are suggesting a few venues toexplore around London on page 25.

There will also be a Tea Dance at the

Shirley Community Centre on 25th June.And for an afternoon tea with a twist, try, ifonly once, the branch of Ladur Paris tea-room in Harrods. The interior is absolutelysumptuous an Alice-in-Wonderland outerroom, all delicate, white and gold withbeautiful pyramids of jewel-coloured cakes and an exclusive-feeling inner room

which is a sanctuary of black velvet and gold statues. There is a huge choice ofteas and cakes, with the macarons being so shamefully decadent. Go for the minimacarons and taste several but dont miss the rose macaron. Have a look attheir website www.laduree.fr/ to get the gist of what I am talking about!

Nearer home and on my way to buy some

festivals, I found out that there was a

monthly Tea Dance at Stanley Halls, a

beautiful and historic Victorian venue which

is a Grade II listed building. I had read on the

notice board that Stanley Tea Dance with

the live band The Keynotes took place on

the 4thThursday of each month but on the

web it stated every Thursday so I phoned

the given number 8253 1038. The recorded

message said that they regretted to say that

they were unable to take bookings after 30 April 2011 as Croydon Council was

having to make large budget savings and, consequently, was looking to cut its Art

and Heritage services, including venue hires. I had to listen to the message twice.

It is a surreal situation as nobody seems to know what will happen.Editor

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professional speakers to come and give

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how to lead a healthy lifestyle, on

current affairs, on crafts and on music.We look forward to welcoming you.

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NOGs ColumnComposting

One of the ladies that I do garden maintenance

for stated, when I first started working for her,that she wanted me to take all the cuttings

away with me as she couldnt get to the tip.

On my first visit I found a compost bin behind

the shed that had never been used. So I

started adding the cuttings to it on every visit.

As most of it was grass I had to mix in some

pruning so that it didnt go slimy. Apart from a

few stirs with a fork, and adding some water

over the year, all I did was to top up the bin.

Yesterday I decided to see what was happening and emptied out the bin to

find that the bottom half of the bin was filled with a lovely compost. This has

now been spread over her flowerbeds to help improve the soil. With Compost

selling at 5 per 60ltr bags it is a great saving by making your own.

With the reduction of peat in commercial compost, the quality varies from

brand to brand and sometime differing batches from the same company canalso be of different qualities. With this in mind and the price of commercial

compost I now add 50% of Croypost to my purchased compost. I use this just

for planting seed and growing crops in the greenhouse. At the allotment I

make my own and use that mixed with Croypost. The compost that comes

out of the wormery is used on the flower beds. I am not 100% happy to use

worm compost on veg plants.

At home I have one bin filled with Croypost, one with commercial compost and onewith homemade compost. You would be hard pressed to tell which was which.

I think that everyone should have a compost bin, but I also like the green waste

collection scheme as without it there would be no Croypost. I see it as every

bag of Croypost I use is a reduction of my Council Tax.

OK here is my quick guide to making compost: the first rule is the bigger the

bin the better. Position your bin on soil, not concrete, and if possible in a

sunny area. When you add material to the bin you need to add layers of

greens (nitrogen rich waste like grass cuttings) and browns (carbon rich

waste like leaves, straw, paper and prunings). If you just fill your bin with grass

it will quickly become slimy and smelly. If this happens you need to mix in

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some shredded paper. You are

aiming for a lasagne of green and

brown.

If your compost is working

correctly it will be warmer than

the outside air. Every few monthsyou need to give it a stir with a

fork to get some air into the mix.

As the matter breaks down the

level in the bin will drop. After

about 6 months your compost

will be ready. If you have a bin with a door at the bottom you can remove the

compost when it is ready whilst adding more material to the top of the bin.When your compost is ready it will be dark brown and smell sweet and earthy.

You can add grass, prunings, veg peelings, tea bags and leaves. If you can get

them you could add rabbit or chicken dropping. You cannot add cooked food,

cheese or cat and dog droppings. When starting off a new compost bin I

always add some compost as an activator to get the process started.

Stuart Collins columnOne of the great things about living in

Shirley is the variety and quality of the

shops and restaurants along the

Wickham Road. It is good for Shirley

that we have a Co-op that supports

Fair Trade ethics and mutual ownershipprinciples. It was really appreciated by

all when they and the other local shops

helped with the petition to save Shirley

Library. Time will tell if that excellent

support has made the Council back

down on closing the Library.

Over the last year I have really got intogrowing my own vegetables and had a

good crop of courgettes, tomatoes,

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parsnips and potatoes. These were all grown in raised beds and I found

Express Timber* a great place to go and get the materials needed to

make the beds. They helped me with the concept, the cutting of the

decking and posts and even advised me on how to put the beds

together, making a big saving on buying ready prepared beds. The staff

are very helpful and if you have a DIY project theyll help you with adviceand even the cutting tools they have in the back yard for those heavy

duty jobs.

I believe its important we support our local businesses and you only find

out just how good they are when you go in and see what they have tooffer. If you have any good reviews on our local shops, please let us know.

*at 211 Wickham Road, Shirley in the Library Parade

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Charles Park answers your questionsI was born in the London

Borough of Croydon, left

school in 1970 and spent7 years working as a

trainee surveyor with a

local Housing Association.

During that time I went to

college for 5 years, then

spent 6 years in a private

practice based in London

working on various sized

projects, mainly residential.

I was principal surveyor for

the London Borough of Lewisham for several more years before branching

out on my own.

We are now one of the largest practices regarding the amount of

applications made within the London Borough of Croydon and also work

in the surrounding boroughs. We offer a complete service with regard toPlanning and Building Control, including structural calculations.

Building Control for a Single Family Dwelling House

Q. In what situations can a Building Notice be considered rather than

applying for full Building Regulations?

A. When making a Building Control application, this can be carriedout in one of two ways: either by giving a Building Notice or presenting

a Full Plans application.

The plus side for giving a Building Notice is that works can start within

48 hours.

One of the downsides is that, if the necessary plans and documents,

which would be required under the Full Plans application, have not

been forwarded to the Council and the work does not comply with

the Building Regulations (i.e. the wrong sized timbers and otherelements of the construction may have been fitted), you will risk having

to correct any work carried out if the local authority requests it.

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Once you have given your 'Building Notice' and informed your local

authority that you are about to start work, the work will be inspected

as it progresses. If before the start of work, or while work is in

progress, your local authority requires further information such as

structural design calculations or plans, you must supply the details

requested. This happens in many cases and causes delays andsometimes considerable additional expenses.

The other downside is that there are also specific exclusions in the

regulations as to when Building Notices cannot be used such as: for

building work which is subject to section 1 of the Fire Precautions Act

1971, for Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997,

for work which will be built close to or over the top of rain water and

foul drains shown on the 'map of sewers' and where a new buildingwill front onto a private street

Lastly, when you apply for full Building Regulations, if the local

authority believes that your building work contravenes the Building

Regulations, they may serve you with an enforcement notice requiring

you to alter or remove work which contravenes the regulations. If you

believe that your work does comply, you may appeal against this

notice. However, the local authority is not required to issue acompletion certificate under the Building Notice procedure and

because no full plans are produced it is not possible to ask for a

determination if your local authority says your work does not comply

with the Building Regulations.

Our advice is to apply for Full Plans approval

Please send your questions to Shirley Life or directly to me

at the address below.

Charles Park

C&CP L A N N I N G P A R T N E R S H I P L T D

8 Ash Road, Shirley, Croydon,

Surrey, CR0 8HU

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Council Sketch by Andrew PellingCroydon Council meetings are

worth watching even when thirty

feet up in the front row of thegallery in Croydons historic 1896

town hall. Its a much grander

forum than many Council

chambers. Sutton Council hold

their meetings in a library cleared

for the evening, which is decidedly

less impressive but probably

cheaper to run. Seventy Councillors

crammed into the chamber can

lead to real tension as the two

Council party leaders square up to

each other to impress their two very

separate packs of followers sitting

behind them. Both are men of substantial substance, one of them

in more ways than one. For those looking for blood sports youwould have been disappointed in recent months. Labour have

stopped playing bal l in recent months as they have clearly decided

to stop taking the bait from the engagingly rumbustious Council

Leader and Shirley Councillor and Selsdon resident Mike Fisher. Its

almost a Blairite type Labour discipline these days as they dont

generally get tempted to shout back at the other sides jibes.

Nevertheless Tony Newman, the Labour Leader, was quick off themark with a teasing challenge. The Chief Executive, who some say

is the real power in the Council, gave his normal introductoryannouncement that PDAs and Blackberrys and some such othercomputerised electronic equipment are not allowed in the chamberor gallery. We need to remember that it is 1896 in those hallowed

portals, decidedly not the 21st century. The Labour Leader wanted

to know why electronic equipment would be banned, after EricPickles, someone even more substantial than the local

Conservative leader and the top Tory local government minister,

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had called for bloggers and citizen journalists to be given thesame routine access to council meetings as the mainstream mediaincluding the recording and filming of Council meetings. Another

local government minister, Bob Neill, has written to all councilscall ing on them to adopt this modern day approach and

encourage greater openness. Its true to say some IT savvyConservative Councillors are renowned for working ass iduously ontheir portable PCs at Council meetings and you can understandthat the Council does not want to get caught out, as someAmerican politicians have been, playing games on PCs while at

meetings. Ominously, the Chief Executive said the PDAcontroversy would all be dealt with by the Councils newly revised

constitution. Yes, the United Kingdom does not have a constitutionbut Croydon certainly does. You cant imagine the Jacobins at the

National Assembly detaining themselves with such concerns whenthey pitched in on their constitutional debates but our goodburghers will be deciding on whether to ban the 21st century this

Summer. Lets hope that this ban will not be extended to stoppingthis Shirley Life correspondent from casting some more l ight-hearted light on their activities.

For some grace and light-heartedness came to the occasion as

Shirley resident and current Mayor Avril Slipper recounted her

amusing moments in her past Mayoral year. The Mayor had been

disappointed that there was no pole to slide down at New Addington

fire station. Just as well really as the Mayor has retained a slim

physique that she must have gained in her years as an air stewardess

and would probably have been thinner than that proverbial pole. The

Mayor spoke of her two charities the Croydon Opportunity Pre-School Group and Help for Heroes. Monies can still be sent to The

Mayor's Charity Appeal (Registered Charity No: 1042479) at The

Mayor's Parlour, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR9 1XW.

Much less constructive was an ugly verbal confrontation started by

Council lor Thomas during his questioning by a new and mild-

mannered female Labour Councillor. Debate ensued about which

meetings the Labour Councillor had or had not attended. This is aman who might take pride in being called a politically conservative

redneck.

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Cicely Mary Barker a Croydonian artistCicely wrote: So let me say quite plainly,

that I have drawn all the plants and

flowers very carefully, from real ones;and everything that I have said aboutthem is true as I could make it. But Ihave never seen a fairy; the fairiesand all about them are just

pretend. This unique blend ofaccuracy and fantasy had by then

established a popularity for the Flower Fairies

books which endures to this day.

Biographical details (from Croydon Council Local Studies sources)

After their marriage, Cicely Mary Barkers parents moved into Elmwood, 68Waddon Road (now re-numbered 94/96) in 1982 where she was born on 28th

June 1895. The family lived in this house from 1892 to 1899, when they movedto Heathside, 1 Duppas Avenue; in 1907 they moved to 17 The Waldrons andin in 1924 to 23 The Waldrons. The plaque above is to be found at this address.By this time, her father had died and the familys circumstances were greatlyreduced. Nevertheless, they attempted to keep up appearances.

As a child she suffered from epilepsy and remained physically delicate for mostof her life. She was unable to go to school, so she was educated at home andspent much of her time on her own, reading and drawing. In 1908, when Cicelywas 13, her father enrolled her at Croydon Art Society, where they both exhibitedwork. She also enrolled in a Correspondence Art course which she continueduntil 1918. At 16, Cicely was elected a life member of Croydon Art Society, theyoungest person ever to receive this honour. All in all, she was involved with theCroydon Art Society for sixty-four years: first as an exhibitor, pupil and member,and later as a teacher. From 1961 until her resignation in 1972, Cicely was Vice-President of the Society. She much enjoyed the societys excursions and mademany lifelong friends, including Margaret Tarrant. She was also an activemember of the Girls Friendly Society, for which she would paint one work everyChristmas, which was then sold as a postcard.

The art critic for the Croydon Advertiser commented: Her drawings show aremarkable freedom of spirit. She has distinct promise. In 1911, when she was15, her father submitted some of her work to Raphael Tuck, the stationeryprinter, who bought four of her pictures for greetings cards. From this timeonwards, she was able to sell her work to magazines, to postcard and greetings

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card manufacturers, and later to book publishers. This was very helpful to thefamily finances. Cicely was industrious and determined. She sent her flower fairypaintings to several publishers before Blackie accepted them for publication in1923. She was paid only 25 for a total of twenty-four illustrations and versesin Flower Fairies of the Spring, the first of the Flower Fairy series. Seven morelittle books about Fairies were to follow.Cicely's sister Dorothy set up her own kindergarten to earn money for the family.

Cicely said in 1958: My sister ran a kindergarten and I used to borrow herstudents for models. For many years I had an atmosphere of children about me- I never forgot it. The house was a vibrant hub of activity and virtually all of

Cicelys work was done there. She only moved to 6 Duppas Avenue in 1961, afterthe death of her mother in 1960. Dorothy had passed away in 1954, aged 61.

Devoted to her mother, Cicely presented her with a first edition of Flower Fairiesof the Spring, with a respectfully loving poem. Her mother appears in the oilpainting Out of Great Tribulation (see page 19 and a detail on page 35).Edith Major, Cicelys friend, had also died, and bequeathed to her a smallbungalow, near Storrington in Sussex. She never took up full residence there asit was too isolated. In 1968 she bought a lease on a nice little maisonette inStorrington and named her new home St. Andrews. Cicelys health began todeteriorate. She spent long spells of time in nursing and convalescent homes asher eyesight started to fail her. Cicely died in Worthing Hospital in 1973. Her

ashes were scattered in the glade at Storrington churchyard.Fairy Art

Cicely was also influenced by the huge popular interest infairies which developed from the Victorian enthusiasm forfairy stories and was epitomised by the immense popularityof J M Barrie's Peter Pan in the early part of the 20th century.Published in 1923, Flower Fairies of the Spring was wellreceived by a post-industrial, war-weary public who were

charmed by her vision of hope and innocence, whichseemed to evoke a less aggressively modern world.

Cicely Mary Barker always used real-life models for her paintings. Most of themodels came from the kindergarten her sister Dorothy ran in the back room ofthe house in which they lived. She also painted the children and relatives. Oneof her models was Gladys Tidy, the young girl who came to the house everySaturday to do the household work.Cicely always asked the child model to hold the flower, twig or blossom of a

particular fairy, for she wanted to be sure of the accuracy of her depiction of theshape, texture and form of the plant. Her only alteration was to the size, sheenlarged the flower to make it the same size as the child. Cicely's flowers are

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always botanically accurate. If she could not find a particular flower close at

hand, she enlisted the help of staff at Kew Gardens, who would often visit withspecimens for her to paint.Cicely's Fairies are not ethereal fairies of the supernatural, but portraits of realchildren, whose characters match the attributes of the flowers. Cicely MaryBarker created all the costumes for her Flower Fairies and based the designs onthe flowers themselves. Each picture depicts a Flower Fairy whose clothes aremade from the petals and leaves of their particular flower. She kept materials ina large chest in her studio in her garden; she also kept wings made of twigs

and gauze there. She reused the material several times, unpicking eachcostume as each painting was finished. She also referred constantly to a bookby Dion Clayton Calthrop called 'English Costume' given to her by hergrandmother Eleanor Oswald. By using real child models and painting theflowers from life as well her paintings are botanically accurate and realistic.

Christian Art

Cicely's art reflects several strong influences. Her family was deeply religiousand she retained a strong Christian faith all her life. She greatly admired the workof the Pre-Raphaelites and her own work echoes their philosophy of being trueto nature, both in her meticulous depiction of flowers and plants and in the wayin which the fairies represent their spirit.Canon Ingram Hill remembers her as one of the pillars of St. Andrew's Church,Croydon. Her faith informed all of her work, religious or secular, whether in cards,children's books or decorating the churches with which she was affiliated. Shealso illustrated collections of hymns, poems and Bible stories.

In 1916, Cicely designed eight mission postcards, including Prayer, a picture ofa young woman kneeling before an open window, possibly modelled on hersister. In 1923, she painted a series of five birthday cards featuring angels andbabies for The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

The Parable of the Great Supper

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Jill and Marzias QuestWhen Jill and I started to prepare thebackground for Toms interview (to bepublished next month) with Juliette Purkiss, a

model of Miss Parker for religious art, wefound out that there were works by CicelyMary Barker in churches in Wales, Sussexand Croydon.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand, 1929

No one seems to know what happened tothe triptych The Feeding of the Five

Thousand (1929) once in the chapel in

Llandaff House, a home for destitute womenat Penarth, Wales. It was commissioned bydeaconess Alice Oswald, the artists aunt.Only a black and white photograph datingback to 1929 reproduces the work. The

picture was published in Cicely Mary Barker and her art by Jane Lang in 1995.

The Parable of the Great Supper, 1935

So, we started with St. George, Waddon, built in 1932 to a design by WilliamCurtis Green, the architect who designed All Saints Church in Shirley. The Vicar,Reverend Patricia Vowles, was very helpful and showed us around the church.We then learnt from Christine Crawley that many tea-towels had been madeand that a number of them is still available for purchase. We bought two tea-towels and two cards of The Parable of the Great Supper. If you cannot travel

The Seven

Sacraments

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to Waddon, please leave your details name and 3.50 for a tea-towel and/or 75pence with Lynn of Fish Frames at 182 Wickham Road and we will pick themup for you.

The Seven Sacraments, 1941

We were lucky that we could get to St. Andrews Church, Croydon on the very

day refurbishment work started. In fact, we phoned Fr. Sylvia and arranged avisit to the church, just before the pews were removed. Cicely had painted thebaptismal roll for the wall behind the font in 1948 and the baptismal font. Shealso bequeathed a percentage of her estate, including future royalties of any re-printed works to St. Andrews. Fr. Sylvia was very helpful and allowed me totake pictures of the baptismal font. Sadly, the baptismal roll had already beenpacked away. Well keep in touch and return to St. Andrews in September.

Out of great tribulation, 1948

It was a little harder to find Out of Great Tribulation the 4 x 7 ft. oil painting thatshe completed for the Memorial Chapel of Norbury Methodist Church, nowdemolished. I had seen a picture of it on flickr and contacted Reverend EleanorJackson of Norbury Methodist Church who was very helpful and said that theoil painting had been entrusted to Croydon Council. I phoned Chris Bennett ofCroydon Local Studies who immediately knew what we were looking for and anappointment was made to view the painting. Jill and I met Georgina Young,Croydon Council Collections and Learning Manager. She guided us into thebasement of the Town Hall where the oil painting (and other works) were storedand answered as many questions as she could, promising to look into theacquisition of the painting. We were impressed with her professionalism.She then wrote on the same day: It was lovely to meet you today and Im gladthat you so enjoyed and appreciated the works by Cicely Mary Barker in ourstore. At your request, Ive had a look back through the old librarydocumentation around Out Of Great Tribulation. There is a letter dating from6 October 1986 from A. O. Meakin (then Chief Librarian) to The ReverendCameron Kirkwood which reads I shall be very pleased to accept your offer ofthe mural painting as a gift to the London Borough of Croydons art collection.Ill send on a copy with the reverends address blanked out. This appears to bethe transfer of title document for Out of Great Tribulation.

There is also subsequent letter from a Mr Rowe dating from 24 November 1986which relates to the preparatory sketch of the elderly lady. The handwriting is alittle difficult, but I believe it states I enclose a sketch which I contend was usedby Cicely Mary Barker in the execution of the work and therefore belongs withit. Mr Rowe also contributed a caption to be used with Out of Great Tribulationwhich is attached to a further letter of 15 October 1987: This picture hung inthe now demolished Norbury Methodist Church and is presented by its

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members. It formed the main feature of its memorial chapel and wascommissioned by the late Harold Watson Esq., a well known Croydon businessman and church member, who donated it in memory of his daughter Peggy,who died in her early teenage. This seems to be where the use of NorburyMethodist Church rather than Norbury Memorial Chapel in the cataloguecomes from and where the idea that the sketch and the painting are linked.Ive also uncovered a paper trail for a potential third piece related to Out of Great

Tribulation which I have never seen in my time here at Croydon. Its referred toas a cartoon for Out of Great Tribulation and it seems to have been offered to theCroydon Art Collection by Mrs D.R. Evans (hence the slight confusion in ourdatabase where there were two conflicting sets of acquisition information). Aletter of 19 December 1994 suggested the caption Cartoon given by Miss CicelyBarker, as a gift, to the Revd D.R. Evans, M.A., Minister of Norbury MethodistChurch, c.1950 and there is further correspondence about this piece in March1995. It is inconclusive from the documentation that I have found so far whatsubsequently happened to this particular work - there arent any images on file,nor was it fully catalogued at any point. My best guess at the moment is that itwas withdrawn because it was not going to be on display. However, that is justa hunch and Ill let you know if I do find any further documents that clarify.One final Cicely Mary Barker piece that appears in the old library records is apastel piece that was borrowed from, and returned to, Croydon Natural History

and Scientific Society. There are no further details Im afraid, but CNHSS mayknow more. I hope that helps with your research, do let me know what youuncover so that I can add it to our records.

She later added: Apologies, I have now tracked down the Cartoon for Out

of Great Tribulation. It is in our store, however, it is a very large scale work on

paper and is rolled. Unrolling it without proper conservation advice could

cause irreversible damage and that is why it hasnt been catalogued or

photographed and why I have never seen it. I will get a conservator to advise

on the best way of unrolling this work and making it accessible, hopefullyyoull be able to come back and see it then.

The washing of the feet, 1962

It was Cicelys last religious-themed work and was installed in St. Edmund's,Pitlake in 1962. The Advertiser (12 March 2011) stated that St. Edmund'sChurch, in Cornwall Road, deconsecrated for around 20 years and associatedwith the famous Victorian illustrator and author Cicely Mary Barker, was to bedemolished. The paper lamented that the church included a now lost stained

memorial window depicting Christ preparing to wash the feet of his disciples.Undeterred, I phoned Canon Colin Boswell and he said that he would ask thearchivist and come back to us with a location of the window.More next month.

Please see pictures on on page 32

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Wickham Studio offers professional Hairdressing and Nail services in a

relaxing and friendly atmosphere. We have a member of the team to suit any

individual and welcome all clients from one to one hundred.

As well as being passionate about hair and offering honest and professional

advice to help you make the best of your locks, we offer BioSculpture gelmanicures and mini, classic and luxury manicures.

Also on offer is Fake Bake spray tanning only 18.00 the best value for miles

around. We are the only local salon to have the wonderful Flabelos exercise

machine, the ultimate 10 minute workout.

In 2009 Wickham Studio were awarded 4 Stars in the prestigious Good Salon

Guide.

Wickham Studio would like to offer Shirley Life readers a 20% discount on

all hairdressing and nail services until end June 2011.

Please quote Shirley Life when booking.

Please call 020 8777 2714 to book an appointment.

We look forward to welcoming you to our salon.Sacha and Team804 WICKHAM ROAD BLUE BIRD PARADE SHIRLEY

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Wow, we think Kate looked amazing. Toachieve this look your hair needs to be insupreme condition. Make sure that you use the

correct shampoo and conditioner for your hair

type; even condition if you have fine hair. It really

does make a difference to use professionalshampoos and conditioners; it may cost more

at first but will work out much more cost

effective as these products are super

concentrated and last much longer.

Why not opt for the

amazing Collexia

treatment blow dryas used by the Duchess of Cambridge and available here at Wickham Studio.

Re-create the wedding look by having a bouncy blow dry, then set the

hair on heated rollers. Once the rollers have cooled down, remove and tipthe head over to loosen the curls. Finally gently sweep the hair away fromthe face and pin securely leaving a little volume through the sides.For more advice and hair tips please pop in and see us.

Four top summer hair tips.1 Remember condition condition condition because the sun

damages the hair as much as the skin. Use a treatment once a

week to keep hair in tip top shape.

2 If you colour your hair, remember that the sun will lighten it. This will

look great with a tan so when its time to re-colour why not ask

your stylist to opt for a lighter shade or alternatively have a few sun

kissed hi-lights added.

3 For that beautiful beach babe look on longer hair: separate the hair

into small sections and plait whilst damp. Once the hair has dried,

remove the plaits and loosely pin the hair up. Not only will this

protect some of the hair from the harmful rays of the sun but will

also add instant glamour.

4 Finally why not tie a bright headscarf reminiscent of the forties. A big

bow at the front and youre away. Not only will this look fab and protectyour hair but it will also go with this seasons must have, the 40s tea-

dress.

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The Goat1-3 BROOM ROA D

SHIRLEY CROYDON

Recently refurbishedfamily-run pub offering

a wide range of beers,ciders, real ales

& wines

C&CP L A N N I N G P A RT N E R S H I P LT D

8 Ash Road, Shirley, Croydon,Surrey, CR0 8HU

MO B: 07796 777700TEL: 020 8777 9999 (OFFICE)TEL: 020 8777 7000 (OFFICE)

EMAIL: charles@candcplanning.co.uk

PL ANS F ORLOFTS, EXTENSIONS, HOUSES,& STRUCTURAL CALCULATIONS

FOR COUNCIL APPROVALS

35 YEARS EXPERIENCEFREE CONSULTATIONS

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T R E N D S : T E A D AN C E SWhether media-induced nostalgia prompted them or because the public has

re-discovered them, tea dances are becoming trendy and everybody talks about

them. We put together a few proposals you might be interested to check out.

TEA DANCE AT SPITALFIELDS A free event part of the Spitalfields Estate

summer event programme. Come

Dancing at the Spitalfields Tea Dances

with music by the acclaimed New Covent

Garden Dance Orchestra. Foxtrots,

quicksteps, cha chas and many more...

whether this will be your first experience

or you are more expert at tripping the lightfantastic, release those inhibitions and join the acclaimed Covent Garden Dance

Orchestra, the musicians that re-introduced the tradition of social dancing back

to the Royal Opera House, in a feast of popular tea dance classics through the

summer

From 1-3pm in the fully covered Crispin Place off Brushfield Street, E1. All ages

and dancers of all abilities are welcome.

Spitalfields Tea Dance Dates for 2011

Friday 27 May - Friday 24 June - Friday 29 JulyFriday 26 August - Friday 30 September

About the Spitalfields Tea Dances

The Spitalfields Tea Dances were founded by Michael Spencer, local resident

and former Education Manager at the Royal Opera House Orchestra, who

originally launched the tea dances at the Royal Opera House as a way of

making it more accessible to the community. Spitalfields has a strong sense of

community and Michael thought that the newly created Crispin Place would

be a perfect place to host tea dances for the area.

The New Covent Garden Dance Orchestra is made up of 9 professional

musicians who play in the band: Joe Loss, Ivy Benson, Edmundo Ross, Jack

Hylton and Stanley Black have links back to the bandleaders of yesteryear.

The band recreates the music of the 30s, 40s and 50s giving the opportunity

for participants to recreate the style and elegance of the period.The release of

their album, Come Dancing (Universal Classics and Jazz) led to appearances

on the Good Morning Show and several radio features.The Spitalfields Tea Dances are part of the Spitalfields Free Summer Event

Programme that includes classical, jazz and blues concerts and open air

concerts programmed in June from the Spitalfields Festival.

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Waldorf Hilton to recapture 20s glamour

As part of the build up to its 100-year anniversary celebration, the Waldorf Hilton

is reintroducing what was one of Londons most famed events in the 1920s.

Tango Tea is being brought back to Palm Court, the hotels unique and grand

centrepiece room where people have socialised, danced and indulged their

senses since the hotels opening

in 1908.

As the popularity of TV shows

such as Strictly Come Dancing

highlight a growing interest in

dance, a one-off event is

planned for Sunday 10th June,

after which the hotel hopes to

make it a more regular event

from the autumn.

Daniel Van Wyk, Operations

Director at the hotel, said: The

Waldorf is a London institution which throughout its history has held close ties

with London society.

In the past two years the hotel has undergone a 35 million refurbishment to

restore the property to its former glory with a contemporary feel for the modern

day guest.We are planning a host of exciting events in the build-up to our main centenary

celebration party in January next year and with Tango Tea were offering people

the chance to step back in time to an age of elegance.

The main event will run from 2-5pm with an electric atmosphere created by a

five-piece percussion band from Jazz not Jazz Productions. Guests will also be

entertained with shows from professional dancers before being invited on to the

dance floor themselves. Simply Dancing Partners, the ballroom event company,

will be bringing its team of male and female dance partners to the event. Inaddition, the company is introducing its unique style of lessons to the Waldorf

so that guests attending Tango Tea can learn or practice

some of the dances in advance. Lessons will be available

in two one-hour sessions from 12-2pm covering a

selection of Ballroom and Latin dances.

As part of the afternoon, the Waldorf Hiltons famous

afternoon tea will be served. The tea includes finger

sandwiches, Waldorf baked scones and clotted cream,one of Patisserie Chef Colin Bennetts exquisite cakes

accompanied by a selection of fresh leaf teas and a glass

of champagne.

26

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Tango Tea will be priced at 65 including afternoon tea. Dance

partners will be available for a fee.

For more info visit www.hilton.co.uk/waldorf

Waldorf Hilton Hotel is situated in the heart of Theatre Land.

21-23 Aldwych, Covent Garden, London WC2B 4DD

tel 020 7836 2400

Contact Simply Dancing Partners to book to dance with the partner team: 020

7736 4493 or jenni@simplydancingpartners.co.uk

Book for the Tea Dance directly with the Waldorf: 020 7836 2400

27

Next month:

Antiques of the future

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Giovannas Column

28

BirthdayPartiesattheV&AMuseumofChild

hood

YoucanhireprivatespaceattheMuseumforch

ildren'sbirthdayparties.Theyoffer

thefollowingpackages:Roomonly(3hours)at

100+VATor Room+activityat

200+VATor Room+activity+cateringat200+VAT+cateringcostsor Roo

m

+cateringat100+VAT+cateringcosts.The

birthdaypartyroomcomfortably

accommodatesbetween15-20childrenseated.W

eadvisethatoneadultispresent

foreverysixchildren.Activitiesincludeastorytra

ilaroundtheMuseumandarts&

crafts(suitableforchildrenaged4+andlasting

90minutes).Partybagsarealso

available(from3.50perchild)containingitems

fromtheMuseum'sshop.

Thepartyroomisavailableforhireatweekendso

nly,from10am-1pmand2-5pm.

Onecarparkingspaceforthemorningorafterno

onisincludedinthefee.

Formoreinformationandprices,contactDonnaPurcellBarnetton89835221 or

emaild.purcellbarnett@vam.ac.uk.

RoyalBotanicGardens,Kew,SurreyTW93A

B,83325655,www.kew.org

NotfarfromShirleytherearemagicalgarde

nswellworthavisit.Aperfect

placeto relax and enjoy nature,they attra

ct people of all ages.To see

everythingthatKewGardens hasto offer Id suggestyoujointheK

ew

Explorertourwithfullcommentary.(4adult

and1childrenunder17).

WaterlilyHouse:Thehottestandmosthum

idoftheglasshouses,itisalso

oneofthesmallest.Itishometoahostof

tropicalandornamentalaquatic

plants. InMay-June itswaterlilies, includin

gtheNimphaeaandthegiant

Victoriacruzianabegintobloom.

PrincessofWalesConservatory:10climati

czoneswithahuge

varietyofplants,includingcacti,ferns,orchids

,carnivorousplants,

andthefamousTitanArum.TheGardensopendai

lyfrom9amto6.30pmweekdaysandfrom

9am to 7.30pm weekends. Entrance fe

e: Adults 13.90,

Concessions11.90.ChildrenFree.

LOVEIT? HATEIT?EMAILIT!

IhopeyoulllikethenewFreedomPassDa

ysOut.London

isabeautifultownandthereissomuch

tosee.Youcan

takeyourgrandchildrentotheMus

eumofChildhoodduring

half-termorenjoyityourself!Shareyouropinionswithme

atgrmice@grmice.com Giovanna

InLondon

NearShirley

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Shirley Community Centre (SCC)

31

What and When at the Centre

Shrublands Christian Fellowship Sundays 10.30 to 12noon

Youth club Mon. and Wednesdays 7 to 9pm

Wardens Wed. and Thurdays 4.30 to 6pm

Zumba Tuesdays 1.30 to 2.30pm

Tenshin tsunami Ryu Tuesdays 7 to 9pm

Legs, Bums and Tums Thursdays 7 to 8pm

South Eastern Road Club Thursdays 8 to 10pm

GKR Fridays 6 to 7.30pm

Tenshin tsunami Ryu Fridays 7.30 to 9.30pm

The main hall is complemented by a well equipped kitchen, there are two

other rooms, and a separate room suited to smaller committee meetings.

The Centre is available most mornings and the early part of each

afternoon. It is also very popular for private parties at weekends.

These premises are ideally placed in a residential area and are well served

by two bus routes. There is some on-site parking,The Centre is currently used by a cycling club, a church, martial arts

groups and dance and exercise groups.

To hire the Centre, please contact 020 8777 4298 on Thursdays between

9.30 and 11.30am or email lettings4scca@hotmail.co.uk. There is also a

new website under construction, www.shirleycca.com.

Midweek charges are 10 per hour (40 for the whole morning or

afternoon, 50 for a whole evening) or 250 for private parties on a

Saturday or 350 on a Sunday. The small Meeting Room cost is 5 per

hour at any time.

We look forward to welcoming you as a new user.

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www.shi r leye lec t r ica l .com

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THANK YOU

The proceeds of the event were split between the SCC and RNLI.40 were generously donated to the RNLI,

the charity that saves lives at sea.

DISCODISCODISCO

Another good night at the Shirley Community Centre where over 50

adults and lots of children enjoyed a good meal and good music that

did suit all ages.

Martin, the chef, prepared new dishes and his vegetable curry was

delicious. There was also a bar-b-q and the chicken and kebabs weremuch appreciated. The DJ for the night, Del, entertained us well with his

music. He is a local person and can be contacted on

07564258689. Del is a drummer with Off the Cuff band.

The night was supported by Awards for All.

WATCH OUT FOR THE NEXT EVENT:

TEA DANCE ON 25 JUNE.

ALL WELCOME.

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Andrew Dunsmore of Picture Partnership, ShirleyPicture Partnership were commissioned to be the Official Photographers for Westminster

Abbey to record the wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales K.G. to Miss Catherine

Middleton on 29 April 2011. Two photographers were required and Andrew and Colin

covered the assignment. Pictures were distributed within minutes and a selection were

published on the Westminster Abbey website before any national daily newspaper had gone

to print.And YES Picture Partnership do cover weddings!

To see a further selection of pictures please visit www.picturepartnership.co.uk/events. If you

wish to purchase your picture of the Royal Wedding, Picture Partnership are offering a 15%

discount toShirley Life readers when you quote 'ShirleyLife27', on any Royal Wedding Print

orders either on-line or at the shop before the end of June 2011.

36 Finally Picture Partnership are now on Facebook too !

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THE GOATPUBLIC HOUSE

1-3 BROOM ROAD SHIRLEY CROYDON SURREY CR0 8NG

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Recently refurbished, family-run pub offering awide range of beers, ciders, real ales & wines.

Bar snacks

Monday 18.30 - 21.30

Curry and a Drink 7(from Chutneys Curry House, Shirley)

Wednesday 19.00 - 22.00

Redtooth Poker LeagueThursday 19.30 - 22.00

Cribbage League (players required)

Friday/Saturday

Regular Live Music / Karaoke

(ask staff for details)

Sunday 19.00 - 21.00

Bingo

3D TV, SKYSPORTS, ESPN, DARTS, POOL TABLE

Currently looking for pool players to start a league,ask staff for details

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Your local library is not for closingClosing libraries is not good news for writers, and not good news for thegeneral public either. Libraries are not just for the odd few - they are used by

many different people. There are many who do not have the income to buybooks, magazines and newspapers or cannot afford access to a computeror the internet. They value their local library for some or all of these services.

Schoolchildren - workshops; browsing and choosing books. A haven to

visit with the school, a parent, a friend or just on their own. It can be just

to change a book (parents could not afford to buy every book a child

wants), investigating other subjects or expanding knowledge, which is a

lifelong benefit.

Grownups - a meeting place that doesnt involve coffee or alcohol! Read

an article; read a newspapers or magazine; browse the bookshelves; learn

how to use the internet. Broaden the mind with the plethora of books and

information available. Out of work? Look at the job ads; use the internet.

Pensioners - internet, newspapers, meeting friends, information.

Particularly if you live on your own, a chance to socialise, as well as the

chance to borrow many and varied books.

Yes, a lot more is now available outside the library, by the use of the homecomputer, but, to be honest, do you really want to spend all that time on

your own in front of another screen? Perhaps there is a case for libraries to

modernise, or have a long hard look at some of the services offered. Do

they really need all those magazines and newspapers?

It seems to me that when there is a need for savings to be made, the first

(and probably the easiest) for a council, is to cut those services that affect

the vulnerable, and in my opinion, libraries fall into that area. Do these

councils not realise the contribution these quiet places stuffed to the brim

with knowledge make to the ordinary person?

Libraries, old folks homes and services, youth clubs - all good for the peoplewho, in many cases, have the least. The users of our local libraries still payCouncil Tax, so why should they be the first to suffer? Get rid of some of theexpensive services, those that benefit few. For example, Council sponsoredfairs and the like; local censuses and so called fact finding; people counting

cars; the office of Mayor and all the trappings (unelected and it costs around1m in Croydon, and probably similar in other councils); the useless ragtelling us how good the borough is.

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Open Tuesdays to Saturdays 10 am to 5 pm

Lynn MacAskill, GCF182 Wickham RoadShirley, Croydon

Surrey CR0 8BGt: 020 8654 0073f: 020 8656 3360e: fish@fishframes.co.uk

www.fishframes.co.uk Open Tuesdays to Saturdays 10 am to 5 pm

Picture Framers & Art Gallery

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People need libraries, and continue to use them. I think there is a case for thelibraries perhaps to become more focused, up to date and to be bettermarketed, when I am sure their popularity would increase once again.

Mike Jackson

Press release from Croydon Council on Sun. 10 Apr 2011With a decision on the future of Croydon's libraries promised by no later thanJuly a statistical overview from the recent consultation survey has beenpublished on the council's website.

As the authority still has a long way to go to close its multi-million poundspending gap over the next four years there will undoubtedly be difficultdecisions to be made about some council services.Over 6,300 people responded to the consultation questionnaire and it is theinitial analysis of these figures which has been released. Council officers arenow evaluating all options properly in order to ensure that the best decisionis taken for the future of library services.Unsurprisingly the majority of those who completed the survey forms wereregular library users who expressed strong views in favour of keeping theirlocal branches open.Councillor Sara Bashford, cabinet member for customer services, culture and

sports, said: There were far more people who responded from the branchesthat were seen as being under threat than from those that had not beennamed in the consultation - which was only to be expected. However it doesgive us a clear picture of the level of support out there for keeping as manybranches open as possible.

The figures are being used to help the council understand the impact thatthe various options it presented last year might have on residents.Councillor Bashford continued: We set out to have a genuine consultation,

and I think we have achieved that. I'd like to say thanks to the thousands ofpeople who have taken part, because we're now in a position to build up afull and detailed picture of what our next steps should be. Without this levelof interest we might have been able to come to a decision sooner - butperhaps with less confidence that it was the right one.

Under threat Croydon libraries given 12-month reprieveExclusive by Mike Didymus in Croydon Guardian, Friday 13h May 2011

Six under-threat Croydon libraries have been given a years reprieve ahead ofa meeting to decide their long-term future.

The six libraries - Sanderstead, Norbury, Shirley, Bradmore Green, Broad

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Green and South Norwood - will keep their funding until at least next April,

when the following years council budget will be decided.

The decision to keep funding the six libraries could be brought before the

cabinet as early as June 13 according to Councillor Sara Bashford, the cabinet

member charged with cutting the councils arts and culture spending.

And she revealed the results would not be all doom and gloom, but would not be

drawn on specifics until the papers had been checked by the councils legal team.

The decision was originally supposed to come before the cabinet in March, but

the council was forced to put it on hold after receiving 20,000 responses to the

public consultation from worried library users.

Coun Bashford said: We were so inundated with information and suggestionsfrom residents - when you look at other consultations you get maybe 1,500(responses) if you are lucky. Its not the case that we were using the July dateto put it in the Summer holidays. If we are able to bring a paper in June that willbe great, because that will stop a lot of speculation - and that would be ideal.But we cant go ahead without all the is being dotted and the ts being crossed.

The Conservative councillor said the separate decision to slash 23 positions

across the boroughs libraries, which came into force at the start of April, would

have little effect on day-to-day running.

Eight staff took voluntary redundancy and another 15 retired, saving the

council 350,000 a year.

Councillor Bashford said many of the jobs were management and specialists,such as childrens librarians, who could comfortably work across more than

one library.

She said: Its going to affect the libraries, but I dont actually think people will

see a huge difference.

Up to 26 members of staff face losing their jobs as the council looks to save

up to 700,000 by closing the six libraries,

The comment below was posted by a resident in Sanderstead, :

So 350K has been saved by losing 23 highly qualified and experienced staff, yetwe won't see much of a change in service?

The irony here, as I am sure Cllr Sara Bashford will be well aware, is that

residents have already begun to register concerns about the marked

deterioration in the service on offer since the effects of this internal reshuffle

took place on 4thApril.

The loss of highly qualified staff must have an impact. We have lost both staff

numbers and qualified librarians at our library. The staff we have are wonderful

but now work under such pressure as we seem to have dropped to only twostaff on duty at any one time, and only one during breaks. We have a qualified

librarian only one day a month now. Yes Sara, we have noticed!

42

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Croydon residents gave their views on libraries in great numbers. They delivered

a very clear message that they value good access to a well run library service,

manned by professionally qualified librarians, yet that is exactly what the council

is now setting out to erode.

Are the council really listening? I don't think so.

Croydon arts policy: no librarians, but 1.5m for Fairfield HallsExcerpt from www.insidecroydon.wordpress.com

A council officer, in a letter seen by Inside Croydon, says that this is all partof a new area based staffing structure with staff being deployed in line withservice needs.Under this structure, it seems Croydon has all but done away with the needfor qualified librarians. Instead, we now have libraries run by customerservices supervisors, or staffed by customer services assistants. Thebranch libraries, if they are very lucky, will get occasional visits from a librarianwho will be allocated to branches to cover events and activities, the councilofficial says.

According to the official, following the re-structure, there are 14 Reading andLearning librarians employed across the borough. Apparently, it is notessential for reading and learning librarians to hold professional qualifications.

Editors commentI wonder how much did the Libraries consultation and analysis of the data

collected cost us, the residents? I have always thought that the politicians

had misread the electorate concerning libraries and believed that people

would grin and bear the closures for the good of the country. And what

about the fact that councils do have a statutory duty to provide an

accessible library service?

I am including an interesting article which appeared in the Croydon Guardian

on Friday 13th May 2011. What a shame that the paper is not widely

distributed in Shirley or in other parts of the borough.

I have also added a comment plucked from one of the most refreshing blogs

in Croydon, Inside Croydon , because it adds depth to the extraordinary

remark I dont actually think people see a huge difference. I believe that

we, the residents who pay for Council services, are worth a little more

respect but we were offered a book token a few months ago...

There is a quote from an abhorrent man of the past that fits our times andthe big farce: Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually

they will believe it. Guess what? I dont think we will.

43

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Now Online at www.shirleylife.comand very soonn print

SAVE OURLIBRARIESand make yourvoice heard!!!

7 January 2011

IfyoustaysilentCLOS

ED

Rhymetime singing for babies and

oddlers with their parents and carers on

Friday 3, 10, 17 and 24 June, 10-10.30am

Wiggle & Jiggle singing for active

oddlers with their parents and carers on

Friday 3, 10, 17 and 24 June, 11-11.30amStorytime stories and crafts for children

and their parents and carers on Thursday

2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 June

Rock and Rhyme - singing for babies and

oddlers with their parents and carers on

Saturday 4, 11, 18 and 25 June , 10-10.30am

Games Club - Do you like playing cards,dominoes, chess and other board games?

Every Tuesday. Come to our weekly

games afternoon on Tuesday 7, 14, 21

and 28 June, 2.30-4.30pm

Craft Workshops and Card making (3

charge to cover the cost of materials) on

Tuesday 14 June , 2.30-4.30pmStitch, Knit & Natter - Fortnightly, on

Friday 3 and 17 June, 2.30-4.30pm. Get

ogether with other knitters for a cup of tea

and a chat. Beginners welcome.

Talk given by Dr Nicholas Cambridge on

Monday 6 June, 2-3.20pm: Sparks,

Shocks and Magnets: Benjamin Franklin,

Erasmus Darwin and Franz Mesmer.

Shirley Safer Neighbourhood

Teams drop-in session on

Saturday 18 June, 2-3pm

USEITorLOSEIT

Stillindanger!

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MacLENNAN SCOTTISH GROUP30th INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCE AND

MUSIC FESTIVALLate Spring Bank Holiday Weekend, 2011

Saturday 28th May7.30 to 11.00pm (approx.)

International FolkDance and CeilidhAdult 7.50Concessions 6.00Child 3.00

Sunday 29th May2.00 to 5.30pm (approx.)

International FolkDance ConcertAdult 7.50Concessions 6.00Child 3.00

Family/weekend discounts

Langley Park BoysSchoolSouth Eden ParkRoad BeckenhamBR3 3BP

E-mailfestival@msg.org.ukPhone020 8300 0621 or 01732 866557

Websitewww.msg.org.uk

Weekend festival of traditional dance and musicfrom the UK and Europe

Saturday 28th May, 2011 eveningInternational Folk Dance and Ceilidh

Join in an evening of international music and dance

Sunday 29th May, 2011 afternoon

International Folk Dance ConcertSit back and enjoy performances by all the groupsLicensed Bar, Refreshments, Tombola, Stalls

Other local performances over the weekend

HawksbrookLane

Links Wa

Langley ParkBoys School

South EdenPark Road

South Eden

Park Road

Monks

Orchard Road

Elmers EndRoad

Eden ParkStation

WESTWICKHAM

BECKENHAM

46

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The Maclennan Scottish Group is hosting its 30th International Folk Dance

and Music Festival on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th May at Langley Park

School for Boys in South Eden Park Road, Beckenham BR3 3BP.

The Group was formed in 1979 with the aim of promoting Scottish music and

dance by visiting festivals in other countries and the first visit was to the Europeade

in Antwerp in September 1979. It is based in London and the South East.

From its inception, the Group took the line that it was very important to be ableto reciprocate the generous hospitality it had received at so many festivals, andit therefore established its own festival. The Group hosted its first in 1982 andsince then a festival has been held every year. For the first thirteen years it washeld in Sidcup, where many of the founder members of the Group were based.

Since 1995 it has been based in Bromley and it has been based at Langley Park

School for Boys in Beckenham since the late 1990s.

Each year, we invite two overseas groups to perform at our festival, together with

locally based folk groups representing a wide variety of traditions, costume, dance,

and music. The format of the weekend has remained similar over the years. It

focuses on a Folk Dance and Ceilidh on the Saturday night, and, on the Sunday

afternoon, a Folk Dance Concert of demonstrations by all the visiting groups and

the MacLennan Scottish Group. Both events are open to the general public and

tickets are available in advance and at the door.

As well as the public performances, the visitors take part in welcome andfarewell parties, sightseeing trips, barbecues, picnics and demonstrations of

folk dancing. This year we are performing for the residents at Bencurtis Park in

West Wickham, and also attending Emmanuel Church on Sunday morning.

Our overseas guests this year are from:

Latvia (Bitite/Auda). The junior dance team is "Bitite" (the little bee) and the

senior dancers go under the name "Auda". They previously attended the

festival in 2005. Lithuania (Ming) - A group of musicians came in 2003. This year we have

both musicians and dancers.

Throughout the weekend, the Epping Forest Pipe Band will be performing and also

accompanying the MacLennan Scottish Group dancers. For the Saturday night folk

dance and ceilidh we also have a local Greek dance group, Lyra and hopefully the

Medway Junior Scottish dancers.The Sunday performance will also include the

Upland Junior Scottish dancers, Highland dancers and the Cinque Ports Morris side.

For further information, please contact:

E-mail: festival@msg.org.uk Website: www.msg.org.uk

Phone: 020 8300 0621 or 01732 866557

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The future of the London Mozart Players

is in our hands

After more than 60 years the London Mozart

Players announced that they were launching

a campaign to secure its future.

The orchestra has worked hard to replace theloss of its Arts Council core funding in 2008.

But more is needed. The LMPs Managing

Director, Simon Funnell, said: This campaign

is urgent and vital if we dont succeed it is

highly likely that the board will have to take the

decision to close the orchestra later this year

so the stakes are very high indeed. The LMP is

one of the finest chamber orchestras in the

country and it is crucial that we protect this

part of our heritage. He continued: Manyarts organisations face challenging times in

the coming years; thanks to the deep impact

of the recession, Government cuts to the Arts

Council, low interest rates and a gloomy

outlook on the economy, the orchestra isfacing a squeeze on every side: there are

more organisations chasing smaller and

Justin

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smaller pots of money. Every time we lose a cultural institution like the

LMP, we lose something of our humanity and we cannot allow this to

happen. The sums of money the LMP need to survive are relatively small

but vital if the orchestra is to survive. The government is calling on

philanthropists and companies to do more to support the arts, and now

the LMP is asking directly for that support.Over the last two years, the LMP has embarked on an ambitious

programme of development, appointing an outstanding music director in

Grard Korsten who has already taken the LMP to new heights, as well

as a new Associate Composer, Roxanna Panufnik. The orchestra

continues to garner critical acclaim for the almost one hundred concerts,

tours and recordings it undertakes each year.

The orchestras work off-stage, LMP Interactive, is also highly regarded,with over one hundred projects run each year. In Croydon the LMP has

worked with around 30 schools and last year reached almost 3800children and adults through its community and education work. Theorchestra has pioneered cross-generational projects involving both young

people and the elderly, was nominated for an RPS award for its Orchestrain a Village project at the Cambridge Music Festival and has worked thisyear with the Princes Foundation for Children & the Arts as well asOrchestras Live and Turner Sims Concert Hall on projects for young

people. It was recently nominated for a South Bank Sky Arts Award for itswork with Portsmouth Grammar School and the composer Tansy Davies. The orchestras principal funder Croydon Council has continued tosupport the orchestra through these difficult times and the orchestrasmanagement cannot thank the Council highly enough for its generosity.

The orchestra realises that it cannot expect the council, or the tax payers

of Croydon, to be the only funders of an orchestra which works acrossthe country and abroad. The LMP is delighted to have an ongoingrelationship both with Croydon Council and with Fairfield Halls both of

whom are strong supporters of the orchestra. But the LMP recognisesthe need to complement this with broader philanthropic support.

The orchestras formal appeal was launched by the orchestras Associate

Conductor Hilary Davan Wetton on Wednesday 20 April 2011.

For more information contact Simon Funnell, Managing Director, LondonMozart Players on 020 8686 1996 or email simon@lmp.org

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The end of the good life

Government paves way for sale of

country's 300,000 allotments as

plot-holders revolt over plan to

scrap historic right to council land

by Jane Merrick and MarkJewsbury, Sunday, 1 May 2011

The century-old right of people to

demand an allotment from their

council may be abolished by the

Government under plans to scale

back red tape, it emerged yesterday.

Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, is examining plans to free localauthorities from a 103-year-old obligation to provide plots of public landfor cultivation by gardeners. The proposals could see local authorities,

many of them strapped for cash under government-imposed cuts, sellingoff allotment land for social housing or even for profit to major companies.

The move has triggered a wave of protest from allotment society membersand gardeners, who have lobbied Mr Pickles to rethink the plans.To join the campaign visit www.nsalg.org.uk/

The Independent on Sunday, backed by the nation's leading gardeners

and chefs, today launches a campaign, Dig for Victory, to force ministers

to safeguard the public right to allotments. For more than a century, the

allotment has been stitched into the fabric of British life, celebrated in

the Second World War Dig for Victory campaign, the self-sufficiency

movement represented by the 1970s comedy The Good Life, and the

current enthusiasm for growing your own.

Because of the zeal to cut local government bureaucracy, section 23 of

the 1908 Smallholdings and Allotments Act, which orders that councils

must provide a sufficient number of plots to local residents where there

is a demand, is on a target list of burdensome regulations. The move

comes just weeks after Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary,

proposed a sell-off of the nation's forests, which led to a humiliating U-

turn after an outcry from green campaigners.

Demand for allotments across the country is so huge since the grow-your-own movement mushroomed in the past decade that many

councils have been forced to close waiting lists. Some gardeners are

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waiting up to 10 years for a plot highlighting the national enthusiasm

for growing fruit and vegetables.

The proposals are all the more surprising given claims by ministers that

the Government is one of the greenest ever. David Cameron has spoken

of his love of growing veg at his Oxfordshire home. He has also urged us

to embrace his vision for the Big Society a sense of community alreadyfamiliar to allotment plot-holders.

The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners and the grow-

your-own community organisation Landshare, set up by the RiverCottage chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, are spearheading opposition tothe plans. Fearnley-Whittingstall said yesterday: You can't overestimatethe importance of allotments to urban communities. They're absolutely

vital for social development, health and well-being. It's about more thanjust putting two veg on the family table; they're about community spirit.At a time when the country has plenty of other things to complain about,

the Government goes after allotments at its peril.Pippa Greenwood, a gardening expert and panellist on Radio 4's

Gardeners' Question Time, said: A climate of cutting back in the number

of allotments doesn't bear thinking about. In many allotment sites there

are people of all sizes and shapes, nationalities, ages, all in one area

learning to get on together and enjoy one another's company. It is quite

unbelievable that anybody can be so far removed from reality even to

contemplate something that might reduce their number.

Ian White, 50, a computer programmer who has grown vegetables at

One Tree Hill allotments in Honor Oak, south London for 12 years, said

his plot was now part of everyday life for his family, including daughters

Roberta, four, and Nico, two: Just yesterday our family had a major seed

planting day. It is very useful at other times of the year when there is notmuch outdoor activity, like on a winter's day, to get them to wrap up well

and go to the allotment for half an hour. It gets them out in the fresh air.

The 1908 legislation applies to England and Wales. In Scotland there is

no such obligation, although the demand for land is not as great. The law

does not apply in London because competition for space is so high.

Inviting responses from the public, the Department for Communities and

Local Government says: To date we have identified 1,294 statutoryduties that central government currently places on local authorities, the

majority of which arise from primary legislation and we are aware that

at this stage it is not a complete list. We are inviting you to comment on52

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the duties and to challenge government on those which you feel are

burdensome or no longer needed.

The TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh said: In an age of technology when

more and more we're disconnected from the earth, it's so important to

have a space to grow your own food, to know its history, know it's

healthy; in that sense growing your own is the sharp end ofenvironmentalism. It would be very sad if the Government did anything

to take away people's ability to do that. I hope it doesn't happen.

Government response

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said:

The Government is reviewing old and unnecessary duties imposed on

councils in order to free them up from Whitehall red tape and as part of

this we have published the list of duties, including on allotments.However, we will not remove statutory protections for allotments or vital

frontline services.

Growing backlash

It is quite unbelievable that anybody can be so far removed from reality

to even contemplate something that might reduce their number.

Pippa Greenwood, Radio 4 gardening expert

I've been on the allotment waiting list in Wandsworth for three or four

years. So any legislation making it harder to find that space is definitely

a bad idea.

Tom Aikens, Chef and restaurateur

It would be very sad if the Government did anything to take away

people's ability to grow your own food.

Alan Titchmarsh, Television gardener

Getting rid of allotments makes no sense in this economic climate. It doesn't

seem very well thought through. To me, it's as bad as losing a library.

Antony Worrall Thompson, Chef and restaurateur

At a time when the country has other things to complain about, the

Government goes after allotments at its peril.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, River Cottage chef

They are not an expensive cost to councils, as all councils normally haveto provide is the land. It is very cost effective for councils.

Dave Morris, National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners

I'm hoping we can use our legislative process to counteract any53

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possible changes. If I am re-elected on Thursday, I will be looking into

putting something in place to protect allotment-holders in my area.

Leanne Wood, Member of the Welsh Assembly for South Wales Central

(Plaid Cymru)

They are the last common right to land we possess. For that to be

snatched away would be the final rupturing of any sense of obligation tocompensate those whose land has been removed.

George Monbiot, environmental campaigner

Case studies...

Derek Bolton, 68, retired environmentalist with a plot on Richmond Street

Allotments, Stoke-on-Trent, for 25 years

My wife and I have three allotments between us. We have been doing it

for 25 years. Ten years ago, we couldn't give away the plots, but nowmost allotments have waiting lists, some up to 14 months. If we lost our

plot we would be devastated. It's my and my wife's life. All the

investment, not just the money but the time that is important to us.

It is about the community around the allotment site. From families to

retired people, we all work together. The average age of plot-holders has

dropped more than 20 years and is now 45. Thirty-seven per cent of our

plots are managed by females; that is the biggest change and it bringsback life into the allotments. We are currently planning an open day on

our site because we can trace the history of gardening on our site back

150 years. People can come and meet us. There are going to be some

tasting sessions with jams and chutneys. We have also produced two

allotment recipe books using produce from our site.

Tom Graves, 24, a student teacher with plot at Greenhouse Allotments

in Leeds, an eco-village complexI cannot see the sense in getting rid of allotments. On a local level it gives

people an opportunity to meet and get to know one another. At the same

time we are doing something that is good for the environment. People

do not have to worry about going to the supermarket because they can

grow their own food. Everyone who uses the allotments at Greenhouse

Leeds is in their twenties. It isn't just a dying hobby; it is something that

younger people will be interested in too. I can't think of any reason whytheir existence in this country should come under threat.

Alan Day, 68, retired accountant. Has worked a plot since 1974 with the

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Chesterton Allotment Society, Histon Road, Cambridge

When I first went to the allotments we had somewhere in the region of 40acres, which was over 500 plots. But from the late 1970s there was a

threat of housing being built in some of the allotments; many people justmoved off the allotments. We had long negotiations with the council over

usage of the land, and by the early 1990s we lost 23 acres. Now we areleft with 14 acres, about 200 plots. These plots are occupied and we nowhave a waiting list. If the council tried to take our land away again we wouldbe horrified. We would not sit back and accept it. We would put up a fight.

No cuts in councillors allowances despite PMs demandsPosted on May 11, 2011 by insidecroydon.wordpress.com

If anyone in Camerons Crazy Council bothered watching Prime

Ministers Questions, they will have spotted that twice in the last twoweeks, Call Me Dave has referred to local authorities reducing thesalaries of their chief executives and cutting allowances to theircouncillors. Its all about leading by example when were all in this

together

None of that looks likely to happen anytime soon in Croydon.Chief executive Jon Rouse, after wielding the axe on 200 councilemployees last month, is still being paid 195,300.

His right-hand man Nathan Elvery remains on a mere 150,167.76.

And our elected councillors have voted themselves the following

allowances (though for now they will continue to claim the lower figures): Leader of the Council 53,224 to 64,824

Mike Fisher

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Deputy Leaders 46,485 to 48,618Dudley MeadTim Pollard

Cabinet Members 43,340 to 45,377

Sara BashfordSimon HoarMargaret Mead

Vidhi MohanSteve OConnellJason PerryPhil Thomas

Chairman of Scrutiny & Overview Committee 40,957 to 45,377

Steve Hollands

Chief Whip (Majority Group) 25,930 to 26,627Terry Lenton

Much was made yesterday by the controlling Conservative group on thecouncil that they would, again, not take the increases that they had voted

for themselves last year because, in the present financial climate, with

Council Tax-payers suffering a 20 per cent or more cut in the services thatthey receive, it would be inappropriate.The estimated 30,000 savings, council leader Mike Fisher suggested,

would go towards the part-funding of one of the libraries that his teamhave been undermining and looking to close.

Yet if the ruling councillors allowance increase is inappropriate now, itwas surely inappropriate 12 months ago when the Tory group dutifully

voted for it. So why did they?

Croydons Tory councillors: proud to serve themselves.

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