Could the Olympic games be coming to Kingston? That was the tantalising, if far-fetched, prospect offered by Boris Johnson as a possible use for a newly refurbished community centre in Old Malden.
The Mayor of London was in Old Malden yesterday to officially open the Shiraz Mirza Trust Manor Park Hall in Malden Road.
Unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion, Mr Johnson joked: “Given the huge pressure on budgets in the run up to 2012, I think that if things really get tough, this might be the perfect venue for the Olympic ping-pong championships."
He was fulsome in his praise for Councillor Shiraz Mirza who was the driving force behind transforming the run-down council-owned building, which only a year ago was nicknamed The Stalag by locals because it had to be swathed in barbed wire to protect it from repeated vandalism.
He described it as a “fantastic achievement” particularly given the difficult economic climate which is forcing councils to drastically prune their budgets.
He said: “Here we have a man who has stepped up to the plate by his own initiative, enterprise and vision and has, I think, created one of the most beautifully refurbished halls in the whole of this part of London.”
The new centre is the second of its kind to be refurbished by the Shiraz Mirza Trust, which was founded by Coun Mirza, Kingston’s first Asian mayor, in 1993 and includes people from many walks of life.
The trust’s first project was to transform the old YMCA hall near Norbiton station into an affordable venue for social, business, training and community activities.
That has been such a financial success that it has paid for much of the £50,000 refurbishment of the second hall, the rest of the work being provided for free or at cost price by local firms and donors.
Coun Mirza said: “I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ from the bottom of my heart to all the sponsors and all my friends, for giving me so much.
“People ask, how do we do it? Very simple: be honest. If you do right by the community, they will do right by you.
“There is nothing we can’t achieve in Kingston and maybe, if the Mayor ever needs our help, we have a good, committed team who will be able to help him with anything he needs.”
Ping-pong is clearly a sport close to the Mayor’s heart. In 2008 he caused a stir at the Beijing Olympics handover ceremony when he said ping-pong was invented on the dining tables of England in the 19th century, and it was called wiff-waff.
He told millions of people around the world: “And there, I think, you have the difference between us and the rest of the world. Other nations, the French, looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner; we looked at it and saw an opportunity to play wiff-waff.”
Councillor Howard Jones, who represents the ward where the new hall is based, praised the Mayor for coming along to support such a worthwhile community project.
He said: “We are grateful to Boris for showing once again that he is not only a mayor for central London but is willing to give time to the community projects like the re-opening of Manor Park Hall in the outer ring.”
The Mayor also visited businesses in New Malden High Street where he found out from local businesses how they were coping with the recession.
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