Archive

  • Caring for cats

    by community correspondent Rebecca McGoran. I have recently become the proud owner of a cat, who was saved by the Cat Protection Society, when he was discovered wild at around one a half years old. He is a very friendly home loving cat, and it

  • Scouts and Guides raise funds by paddling 275km!

    From Community Correspondent Christine Wicks: Eighty members of the 2nd Malden Scout Group and 28th Wimbledon Guides combined in a twelve hour Paddleathon to raise money for the Joshua Deller Trust. Joshua suffers from Neuroblastoma – a very rare

  • Crime doesn’t pay!

    By community correspondent Rebecca McGoran Ordinary members of the public team up with the police and local authorities to reduce crime and disorder. They do this under the banner of Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. Sutton has a very active Neighbourhood

  • Stamps celebrate 100 years of Girlguiding

    From Community Correspondent Christine Wicks: Published Date: 02 February 2010 - A new set of commemorative stamps celebrating one hundred years of Girlguiding go on sale today. The set of four stamps highlights the organisation's four age

  • Should the law on leads be pulled in?

    By Community Correspondent Aliza Catlin For some a trip to the park may not be as simple and pleasant as it sounds. Dogs are a common visitor to many of Sutton’s parks and they are not welcomed by everyone as for some they can cause them fear and even

  • Tate-tastic

    by community corrospondant Alex McGoran On Thursday January 28th 2010 I visited Tate Britain. I studied many pieces, but my favourite works were the abstract impressionist works. I felt particularly inspired by Patrick Heron’s Yellow Painting: October

  • Sir Cliff Richard

    by Community Correspondent Alexandra McGoran Cliff Richard recently celebrated his 50th anniversary with a sell out world tour. Cliff and the Shadows was a brilliant show. It was great to see his energy on stage, which is amazing considering he is

  • What can Croydon do for Haiti?

    By Samia Ahmed Whilst many Brits have been battling one of the bitterest winters the country has ever seen, this has been a blip compared to the devastating and destructive earthquake that hit the Caribbean country of Haiti in Port-au-Prince

  • Will the Big Freeze return?

    The country was shocked two weeks ago when a thick layer of white snow fell up to 20cm. Over 1,500 schools were shut for up to a week in some places in the South East alone and thousands of people were left snowed in and unable to get out of there house

  • January Ice Age

    By Community Correspondent Francesca Wolsoncroft This years New Year marked the start of a new decade, of a new era. But for some, it seemed more like the start of an ice age. December and January have been the coldest since 1981/1982 so with

  • Eagles fight to keep wolves from the door

    Crystal Palace’s future hinges on the outcome of tonight’s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Administrators have admitted they are not “awash” with cash and are holding a meeting on Thursday to see how long the club can survive before a

  • Father and son in band battle

    Kingsmeadow Live is hosting its annual Battle of the Bands competition next Friday night and this year a father and son will be going head to head. Bert Brett’s up and coming rockers, Kooler Kings, will be taking on I, Ludicrous, featuring his dad Martin

  • Year 10 Surbiton High Girls get ready for trip to Iceland

    By Community Correspondent: Bethan Baxter For many years, students in year ten at Surbiton High have had the chance to go on a geography orientated trip to the cold and magical country of Iceland. Usually the girls have gone at Easter time, but for the

  • Jez enjoys his Big Brother experience

    Alex Reid may have caught the attention as the winner of Celebrity Big Brother on Friday, but up in Cumbria there were a whole set of very different people holed up together. Folk singers Jez Lowe, Julie Matthews, Boo Hewerdine, Rory MacLeod and Ruth

  • Sledgehammer robbers target New Malden jeweller again

    A jewellers has been attacked again by sledgehammer wielding smash-and-grab robbers, who escaped on a scooter after quick-thinking staff thwarted their efforts. The windows at Ratnam Jewellers in Burlington Road, New Malden, were repeatedly

  • Henry VIII heads to Hampton Court Road

    King Henry VIII joined staff at the Carlton Mitre Hotel in Hampton Court Road on Monday, January 25, to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary. Carlton’s managing director, Alfred Bree, and hotel manager Anthony Levin also released balloons

  • Elmbridge exasperated by Monday motoring misery

    Motorists in Esher were left stuck in queues for hours on Monday morning, when icy conditions caused three accidents in the area. The first took place in Portsmouth Road at 6.18am, when a black Renault Megane collided with a blue Skoda Felicia. The

  • Team news: Crystal Palace v Wolves

    Johnny Ertl could return to the Crystal Palace side for tonight's FA Cup fourth round replay at Wolves. The Austrian defender limped out of the match with Newcastle United six days ago after just two minutes when he appeared to pull his hamstring. He

  • Weybridge woman died pursuing lifelong dream

    A Weybridge woman’s lifelong ambition ended in a fatal horse riding accident in Wimbledon last year, an inquest has heard. A jury at Westminster Coroner’s Court returned a verdict on Tuesday that Belinda Humphries, 57, accidentally fell off

  • Father of two died in Croydon smash dropping son at school

    A father-of-two died in a horrific crash near the Purley Way after being flung from his van while he was taking his son to school. Sinnadurai Balasundram, 49, was struck by a Mini travelling in the opposite direction along Ampere Way just after

  • Litter good that is doing!

    By Community Correspondent Aliza Catlin Walking around Sutton you will probably have noticed a topic that makes many people’s blood boil. Litter: wherever you are you will see it. It may not be a reflection on the area but it is on the people

  • Hughes wants to take Croydon to the big time

    Rob Hughes has pledged to help Croydon climb the Football League pyramid. The former Sutton United star, who was told he would never play football again after being severely beaten in a bar fight in Crete and needing four life-saving operations, scored

  • Community Sculpture Project

    Imagine Merton has been given a unique sculpture opportunity by the Arts Development team at Merton Council. In partnership with ACAVA and artist Lawrence Mathias, Merton residents are invited to put together a sculpture designed to go on display

  • Millers resilient against plucky Richmond

    Sanderstead returned to winning ways in South League’s Surrey Division Two on Saturday, triumphing 2-1 against their hosts Richmond Thirds. Taking a 2-0 lead into the closing stages, the Millers resisted a late comeback from Richmond, to put their defeat

  • Sutton waste meeting to be held

    Residents are invited to a briefing about the future of waste in Sutton. Following requests from residents, MP Tom Brake and executive member for environment Coun Colin Hall are holding a public meeting to give updates on various waste related

  • Streatham-Croydon gift Old Tiffinians win

    Streatham-Croydon gifted Old Tiffinians a comfortable 39-19 win on Saturday thanks to a spell of sheer ineptness that undermined recent good performances, writes Owen Jones. Indeed, Streatham competed well throughout this game against the table-topping

  • Teenage kicks in Morden Park

    Active teenagers have a new place to get their kicks. A new multi-use sports area was unveiled in Morden Park on Thursday. The facility features play equipment designed specifically for teenagers, and was designed with the help of students at Bishopsford

  • Guilfoyle disappointed at Clyne decision

    Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle has revealed he tried to convince Crystal Palace teenager Nathaniel Clyne to join Wolves on transfer deadline day. Mick McCarthy's team, who bid £1.5m for both Clyne and Victor Moses last week, agreed a fee with

  • "Nappuccino" mornings for new mums in Merton and Kingston

    Young mums can get free advice on buying and using environmentally-friendly disposal nappies at a series of “nappuccino” workshops. The coffee mornings, hosted by the Kingston and Merton Real Nappies Network, last 90 minutes and tell new mothers

  • Athena Women's Networking Launches in Cobham Wed 10 Feb 12 noon

    Running from 12 noon to 2pm, the business lunch meetings provide informal networking time, a sit-down lunch and the opportunity for women to promote their own business. The aim of Athena is to help women grow their businesses by sharing experiences, exchanging

  • Care: England fired up for Wales clash

    Danny Care reckons England will be desperate to prove a point when they kick off the Six Nations with a Twickenham clash against Wales this weekend. Care was named in Martin Johnson’s starting line-up for the Saturday showdown, alongside fellow

  • Care earns chance to impress again for England

    Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care has won back his place in England's starting line-up ahead of their opening Six Nations clash with Wales at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday (5pm). He replaces former Sutton & Epsom man Paul Hodgson at number

  • United save their best for the big occasions

    How do they keep doing it? I am talking about Manchester United. Despite being away from home - and only four days after that bruising Carling Cup semi-final win over Manchester City, the Reds managed to turn over an Arsenal side who were really up

  • Epsom Coaches offers reward over bus vandalism

    The boss of an Epsom coach company has stumped up a £1,000 reward for information after five of his buses had their windows smashed while parked on a main road. Four coaches and one bus from Epsom Coaches had 28 windows smashed with an emergency

  • Winning weekend for Richmond bowlers

    Richmond IBC took all 18 league points from their victory over Cambridge Park in the Club Top Ten Tournament. In the home pairs David Charleston and Brian Lawton won 25-14, while in the triples C Nolan, C Clarke and R Johnson squeezed home 15-13

  • Sutton doctor's house fire ordeal

    A doctor who narrowly escaped a house fire spoken of his family's “terrifying” ordeal. St Helier Hospital doctor Paritosh Sharma did not think his family would escape alive when he discovered a blaze in a cupboard at his front door in the

  • Sutton Youth Parliament election under way

    Voting for the 2010 Youth Parliament election is now under way. There are seven Sutton candidates for the 2010 Youth Parliament elections and young people can vote for a YMP to represent their views at a national and local level. The

  • Surrey Police Authority launches consultation over changes

    Changes to Surrey Police are the subject of a public consultation asking residents to have their say on the proposals. The online consultation launched by Surrey Police Authority (SPA) is for public opinion on the Chief Constable Mark Rowley

  • Interim chairman appointed to NHS Surrey

    An interim chairman has been appointed to a local health trust while they look for a permanent one. Julian Lee has joined NHS Surrey while the Appointments Commission, which makes appointments to the boards of Primary Care Trusts on behalf

  • Richmond trio in strong line-up

    Head coach Mike Barnett has named a strong England Women’s A line-up to face Nomads at Esher RFC this Sunday (4pm). Richmond’s Francesca Matthews, Abigail Chamberlain and Emma Layland all make the starting line-up, while Sara Anastasi is among the

  • Justin copes best in the mud for Striders

    Justin Macenhill produced Striders of Croydon’s best performance at the Southern Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill on Saturday. He finished 189th out of 806 finishers over the muddy 15km course, clocking one hour, one minute, 32 seconds

  • £500,000 judo centre to open in Sutton

    A world class judo centre costing £500,000 will be opened by a three times Olympian and world medallist. Westcroft Judo Club together with chairman of the British Judo Association, former Olympian Densign White will unveil the new facility

  • Firearms meeting cancelled over fear of glorifying gun crime

    A police watchdog pulled a presentation on how officers target crimes involving firearms because of fears it would glorify gun culture. Anna Tapsell, chair of Lambeth’s Community Police Consultative Group (CPCG), cancelled a presentation by

  • Lambeth rent increases less than originally feared

    Council tenants have seen their proposed rent hikes cut after a u-turn by council housing bosses. Tenants had faced an inflation-busting 5 per cent increase in rents and 8 per cent increase in service charges. But next Monday Lambeth

  • Hearing problem workshop success

    Families learnt about hearing difficulties and the services available to children sufferers, at a day hosted by the Audiology team at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton recently. As well as facepainting, one of the highlights of the day for

  • Fines for Merton litterbugs

    On-the-spot fines will be dropped on litterbugs as Merton Council launches a crackdown on those found dirtying the borough’s streets. A £75 penalty will be imposed on those caught out by a team of enforcement and police officers specifically

  • Happy birthday for Grasshoppers

    Grasshoppers celebrated their 60th birthday with an excellent win at home to St Albans. They were untouchable in the first half when they cruised ahead down the slope with two Tom Orishaguna penalties thanks to an awesome performance from their forwards

  • Call for debate on parking charges

    The campaign to stop parking charges in Richmond and Bushy parks has gone up a gear after the Liberal Democrat Party officially requested a House of Commons debate on the issue. Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg joined borough MPs Vince Cable

  • Eagles stay top after convincing victory in Coventry

    Malory Eagles remain at the top of volleyball’s first division following a straight-sets win at fourth-placed Coventry & Warwick Riga. Returning from injury, Mark Brown was joined in the starting line-up by Richard Dobell, Alex Bialokoz, Marc Richardson

  • Harriers wade through the mud at Parliament Hill

    Fifteen Croydon Harriers were among 2000 athletes who tackled a muddy Parliament Hill in the South of England Cross Country Championships on Saturday. All but one of the Harriers completed the course, with three of club’s U13s tackling a major

  • Brown: Dons must show character

    Terry Brown has demanded a reaction from his wounded side when they return to Blue Square Premier action following their FA Trophy flop last weekend. The Dons were dumped out of the competition by Blue Square North side Workington 3-2 in a

  • Crystal Palace administration explained

    We take a look at the administration process and pick out the key points that all Crystal Palace fans should know. TEN POINT DEDUCTION As soon as an administration order is made and communicated to the Football League, the club is immediately

  • First Asian clams found in Thames at Kingston and Molesey

    An alien invasion is silently creeping into Kingston under the waves of the River Thames, river conservationists have warned. Asian clams, an invasive non-native species, were first found in British waters in 1998 in the Norfolk Broads and

  • Schmid calls for focus

    Mike Schmid has told his Esher players to keep their focus as they close in on a place in the promised land of the Championship. The National One pacesetters roared to their eighth straight win in an eight-try 56-7 romp at Newbury last weekend.

  • Warlingham delighted to beat the freeze

    Forced to play on an adjacent pitch with the main pitch frozen, Warlingham were glad Uxbridge referee Will Fry gave this game the overhead as they romped to an impressive victory on London Two South East. They immiedately showed their internet and a

  • Council cash deal over Croydon HQ still shrouded in secrecy

    A shroud of secrecy still remains over Croydon Council’s decision to borrow £145m to build its new headquarters. The council was accused of brokering the controversial Urban Regeneration Vehicle (URV) partnership with developer John Laing,

  • Wakeling: Tooting will battle on

    Assistant boss George Wakeling reckons morale is holding together Tooting & Mitcham’s Ryman Premier promotion drive as the Terrors battle injuries and suspensions. Despite losing Jamie Byatt for the rest of the campaign, and having skipper Joe Vines

  • Westcroft to unveil £500,000 judo club

    Westcroft Judo Club will officially unveil its new £500,000 judo club based at Carshalton Boys Sport College this Saturday. The new facility, an extension to the schools existing indoor sports facility, boasts a 10m x 12m contest area on a sprung floor

  • Hercules pair make the top 10

    A sizeable contingent of Hercules Wimbledon runners were in action in the South of England cross country championships at Parliament Hill Fields, North London on Saturday with teenagers Liam White and Cassian Hyde best of the bunch. White improved

  • Jones-Bishop: I'm just warming up

    Young gun Ben Jones-Bishop has put Warrington on alert by claiming he is just getting started at Harlequins RL. The on-loan full-back proved the highlight of an opening day defeat for Quins, claiming both tries as the Londoners fell to an 18-10 loss

  • Farmer offers £500 reward to find Coulsdon vandals

    A farmer has become so angry with vandals damaging his fence he is offering a reward for information leading to their conviction. John Kent, 66, of the Coulsdon Area Farm is “fed up” of vandals who keep cutting his fences so they can walk their

  • Sex advice for Sutton teens on new bus

    Young people can get sexual health tips in time for Valentines Day with the relaunch of a website. Teenagers can accesss information on condoms and other methods of contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections

  • Sutton toy firm wins award

    A toy company has won an award from its industry peers. Flair supplies products such as Plasticine, Smurfs, Sylvanian Families, Hello Kitty and Uno. The Cheam-based business which began trading in the UK in July 1999, won the toy company

  • Hersham invited to have its say

    Hersham residents can have their say on policing priorities in the area, at a panel meeting of the local neighbourhood policing team on Wednesday, February 10. People who attend will have the chance to vote on issues they are most concerned about and

  • Bus finally seen on Coulsdon bypass

    This is the first time a bus has used the controversial Coulsdon Bypass bus lane since it’s creation four years ago. The multi-million pound bypass, plagued by delays and held in derision by Cousldon residents and traders, was given the green

  • Croydon Tory sets up his own council political group

    Disgruntled councillors have formed a new political party in Croydon to escape the “pantomime antics” of the Conservative party. The Independent Conservative Party was formed on Monday by Councillors Brian Cakebread and Enley Taylor.

  • Survey reveals worst Valentine's Day presents

    Some of the worst Valentine's day present men questioned at Centrale admit to buying include a four-pack of alcopops. A quarter of men say they are not looking forward to Valentine’s day because they do not know what to buy their partners.

  • Campaign to bring Northern Line to Streatham

    A 20-year-old campaign to bring the Northern Line to Streatham has been resurrected. Plans to extend the Tube line by creating a second southern branch, going from Streatham to Kennington, have been dusted off by Lambeth Liberal Democrats and

  • Wallington songwriter misses out on Grammy

    A songwriter who penned a track for a Beyonce Knowles film has just missed out on a Grammy. Scott McFarnon, from Wallington, was nominated in the Best Song in a Motion Picture category for the ballad Once in a Lifetime at Sunday’s awards held

  • Mayor backs down over Crossrail levy in Merton

    Fewer Merton businesses will be forced to stump up for the Crossrail project after a climbdown by the Mayor of London. A city-wide 2 per cent levy on business rates to fund the planned east-west rail link through London is expected in April

  • Free healthcheck available for Wandsworth residents

    Shoppers in Battersea got a free healthcheck recently as part of a campaign to promote good health across the borough. The health screenings, orgnaised by NHS Wandsworth and the Blood Pressure Association, are open to residents aged between

  • Emergency hospital services could be axed, MPs claim

    A&E or maternity services at one of the two hospitals serving Wandsworth, St George’s and Kingston, could face the axe, according to a leaked report. Edward Davey, Kingston and Surbiton MP, and Susan Kramer, Richmond Park MP, were told

  • Tree planted in honour of fallen PC

    Police joined Clapham residents and the Mayor of Lambeth to plant a new tree dedicated to a police officer who was killed on duty 17 years ago. The tree was planted in the Westbury Estate in memory of PC Patrick Dunne, who died while responding

  • Mayor 'encouraged' by Battersea Power Station plans

    Plans to redevelop Battersea Power Station have met with the broad approval of the Mayor of London, but the scheme needs to offer more affordable housing, he said. In his report on the 52-acre site, Boris Johnson told Real Estate Opportunities

  • Surbiton's Shreddie going on longest walkies ever

    Shreddie the dog may find her daily walks a little more strenuous than usual, when she sets off on a 630-mile hike along the south-west coastal walk, to raise money for Kingston Bereavement Service. The six-year-old wheater terrier will