Culture

Illuminated letters (of our time)

13 February 2017

I LOVE neon and I LOVE letters and typography, so I was always going to love the new show on at RISE gallery: The Light Within. Neon, which for nearly a hundred years, has...
Read more

From pilots to polar bears

9 February 2017

Next month there’s a theatre festival in town – that’s right folks, Croydonites Festival of New Theatre returns for its second year, running from 16 March to 1 April. A number of Croydon venues,...
Read more

Matt’s Mystery Power Cut

25 January 2017

Matt Bannister is an illustrator who loves depicting the people and places of the Cronx. Living in nearby Wallington he’s regularly in our hood, searching for his next scene. We tracked Matt down to chat...
Read more

Take off and bump off

11 January 2017

It’s that time of year again where we’re all skint, it’s cold outside and we’re most likely having an alcohol free month and/or have started some depressing new fad diet. Bets are on that...
Read more

Smoothly does it

5 January 2017

Bleak winter mornings, limited daylight and a frosty chill in the air. That pretty much sums up January for most, although I do quite like winter, but that first month of the year is...
Read more

Sweet ’16 in the Cronx

28 December 2016

We’ve reached that limbo part of December, between the mulled wine of Christmas and the prosecco of New Year’s Eve, when we’re all either curled up in front of trash telly, or sorting out...
Read more

Making her mark in the Cronx

5 December 2016

Lis Watkins describes herself as drawing her way through life – she is an illustrator who lives just over the Croydon border in sunny SE20, but you can regularly spot her out and about in...
Read more

Enter Utopia, stage right

31 October 2016

This year saw the two year closure commence of our beloved Fairfield Halls, raising many a concern for the theatrical decline in the borough that it would leave. We may have temporarily lost this...
Read more

The epic adaptation of Oliver

16 October 2016

2016 has certainly been James Oliver’s year, with three solo shows, and more arranged for 2017 his art is becoming highly collectible, having sold over 150 pieces to date. Best known for his colourful...
Read more

Croydon’s Box of Delights

26 September 2016

Croydon has been at the forefront of many exciting things in its time – world record breaking flights, innovation in aviation and rail – plus it has a rich history in arts and entertainment.  In fact, Croydon was...
Read more

Kinks in the Cronx (and other artists)

12 September 2016

Last week I discovered the rather fab 101 Records which can be found round the back of Centrale, on the same strip as Turf Gallery. I spent a good hour in there, flicking through...
Read more

Croydon’s grand designs

4 September 2016

If you’re like me and enjoy a good nose round other people’s pads, or have rolling episodes of Grand Designs on the telly as background noise to relax, you’ll be looking forward to Open...
Read more

251 poppies, 100 years on

30 August 2016

This year is the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, a battle that lasted 5 months, with a death toll of over 1 million French, German and British soldiers. The first day...
Read more

A rainbow over Surrey Street

23 August 2016

Last year on August bank holiday weekend Angela and I got hitched at Croydon Town Hall. So what better way to mark our first anniversary than to celebrate at the inaugural Croydon PrideFest? That’s...
Read more

The novel Hart of the Cronx

14 August 2016

I don’t know about you, but for me it’s a real treat when I read a novel where I know the location in which it’s set. I sort of feel like I’m an extra...
Read more

Stand by for take-off (in a wicker chair)

2 August 2016

The Purley Way, known as a Saturday traffic nightmare of DIY shoppers, is actually quite a fascinating place. Rich in history, it was once upon a time at the forefront of an exciting new...
Read more

Art all over our Turf

13 July 2016

What connects the following? 1) Centrale Shopping Centre 2) Crazy golf 3) A mole picture in Wandle Park 4) A commemorative set of boulders 5) Croydon airport No? The answer is Turf. Not the...
Read more

Riding a Cadillac to Utopia

8 July 2016

Bugeye, made up of two-thirds Croydon residents, is an indie-disco band, of which the singer and lead guitarist is the Croydonist’s very own Angela Martin. Currently being played on BBC 6 Music, they release...
Read more

Tempting us to the edge of art

3 July 2016

The Tories have been swinging an axe at the arts budgets like a madman on amphetamines, ever since election (don’t worry this isn’t going to be a political rant, promise!). On top of this...
Read more

In our back yard

29 June 2016

When I first visited Matthews Yard for a charity gig night a few years ago, it felt like I’d wandered through a portal to a different world just off Surrey Street Market. I’d lived...
Read more