This is a very Croydon Christmas

29 November 2023

Although my usual rule is not to mention the festive C word before December begins, it is in fact the start of the twelfth month this very friday (yes it seems to come round...
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This is Night Shift

21 November 2023

Last week I headed to the opening night of Zoo Co’s new production, Night Shift, which is running until this Saturday (25 November) at Stanley Arts. Not having seen a Zoo Co show since...
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Upper Norwood’s Downsview

16 November 2023

Autumn is indeed a season for theatre, especially in Croydon. This week we chat with Sam Canning, who is the director of the Upper-Norwood-based amateur dramatics company, The Downsview Players. We talk about their...
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Curating Creative Croydon 23

9 November 2023

Who doesn’t enjoy some outdoor art to brighten our streets? We were delighted when Croydon BID asked us to curate a second season of the Creative Croydon exhibition, after we brought the work of...
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The evolution of pink

1 November 2023

I recently visited local artist Kate Marsden in her studio at ASC Grafton Road. For those of you who don’t know ASC Grafton Road, it is home to over 100 studios for artists and...
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Turf, Textiles, and Tufting

26 October 2023

This week we catch up with our current social media header artist, Divya Sharma – a multi-disciplinary artist whose current work leads with the medium of textiles and threads, she has a studio in...
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David Lean goes punk

19 October 2023

Coming to our favourite independent cinema at the end of this month is a punk film festival (from Monday 30 October to Saturday 4 November). As part of the This Is Croydon programme The...
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A taste of a bit of a do

12 October 2023

Billed as comedy, cabaret and creativity, A Bit of a Do –  the annual festival curated by accessible arts charity Drunken Chorus – returns to Croydon next week, from 18–28 October. We caught up...
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Gliding over Croydon

5 October 2023

Last week I took to the skies of Croydon and crossed off an activity that’s long been on my bucket list. No, not a plane or a helicopter or even a hot air balloon,...
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This is Croydonites

28 September 2023

It’s nearly that time of year when our favourite theatre and performance festival returns to Croydon. That’s right, Croydonites Festival is back this Autumn from 2 to 18 November bringing us some awesome theatre...
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This is the Croydon Music Heritage Trail

20 September 2023

Last Saturday we joined a Croydon Music Heritage Trail tour around the centre of Croydon. We (along with a dozen or so other walkers) met our three friendly guides from the Museum of Croydon...
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An exquisite Elodie experience

14 September 2023

One balmy evening last week Julia and our guest writer Lisa visited Elodie for dinner – Birch Selsdon’s new signature restaurant with food by Michelin-starred chef, Lee Westcott. Lisa: My visit was a whole lot...
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Croydon is open

7 September 2023

September, the start of autumn and the last of those glorious warm evenings before the weather turns and the darker evenings set in… it’s one of my favourite months of the year, but not...
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This is Carnival of Invention

28 August 2023

There’s another carnival coming to Croydon, but this is a carnival with a difference, as its theme is invention (yes you heard right). On Sunday 10 September the Carnival of Invention will be taking...
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This is Liberty

24 August 2023

The next London Borough of Culture festival on our radar is Liberty. The free arts festival celebrating the work of deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists hits our town for three days from Friday 1...
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This is Croydon Stands Tall

17 August 2023

You may remember back in February us talking about giraffes covered in art roaming our streets. No? Well if not see here. Since then Croydon BID and Wild in Art (who are the organisations...
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This is Purley Community Festival

10 August 2023

It’s great to hear that Croydon’s festival season continues beyond August. Now we’re nearing the halfway mark of the school summer holidays, I’m scanning the September calendar for events to look forward to.  One...
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In good company

3 August 2023

I continue to be surprised and impressed by the number of names linked to Croydon; famous actors, musicians, inventors, activists, writers… the list goes on. So this week dear readers, in my research I...
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This is Croydon Carnival

26 July 2023

Summer festival season is well underway in Croydon, and this year because we’re the London Borough of Culture (in case you didn’t know 🙂) the festivals are coming at us thicker and faster than...
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Glass half full

19 July 2023

It’s been a few years since we last caught up with MD of Signal Brewery Charlie Luckin. Tucked around the corner from Therapia Lane Tram Stop and Croydon Ikea, Signal have been busy expanding...
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