Face-less and word-less: fringe candidates who want your vote Just who are these people wanting you to entrust them with your precious vote on May 7? As KEN TOWL discovered, some appear very reluctant to let you know who they are, or what they really stand fo…

In Croydon we used to be just red or blue, now we have yellow and green, "explicit socialists" and "local candidates for local people". insidecroydon.com/2026/04/19/2...

That's not a bad slogan: 'Vote Peter Underwood - he won't be told!'

‘Decency’ hustings as no one missed the missing candidate ELECTION SKETCH: In a cramped ‘hub’ in Broad Green, the first full hustings of the 2026 Croydon Mayor campaign took place last night. KEN TOWL was there, so you didn’t need to be …

'Decency' hustings as no one missed the missing candidate - guess which party failed to show up... insidecroydon.com/2026/03/27/d...

Well, we all knew this.

Bruising drama that delivers a punch against the patriarchy KEN TOWL goes 12 rounds with the latest must-see play to be staged at the Coulsdon Community Centre. Photos by STEVE NORTH Director Anya Destiney has not made things easy for herself. The Sweet Sci…

Bruising drama that delivers a punch against the patriarchy insidecroydon.com/2026/03/23/b...

Bruising drama that delivers a punch against the patriarchy KEN TOWL goes 12 rounds with the latest must-see play to be staged at the Coulsdon Community Centre. Photos by STEVE NORTH Director Anya Destiney has not made things easy for herself. The Sweet Sci…

Bruising drama that delivers a punch against the patriarchy insidecroydon.com/2026/03/23/b...

Take a step back in time for the start of the election campaign KEN TOWL was at last night’s Ruskin House election debate, so that you didn’t need to be The great red-green face-off at Ruskin House last night answered some burning questions, such as…

Take a step back in time for the start of the election campaign insidecroydon.com/2026/03/20/t...

Standing ovation for Ukrainian cast of Carmen at Fairfield Halls There were knife fights in central Croydon on Friday, but no teenagers were involved. KEN TOWL reviews Ellen Kent’s passionate production of Bizet’s  Carmen by Opera International Kyiv …

Standing ovation for Ukrainian cast of Carmen at Fairfield Halls insidecroydon.com/2026/03/02/s...

The Sweet Science will be landing a blow for women’s cause KEN TOWL got a behind-the-scenes preview of the next production from Coulsdon’s acclaimed theatre group, which he says will be a real knock-out In December, when I went to the Coulsdon Commun…

The Sweet Science will be landing a blow for women's cause insidecroydon.com/2026/01/27/t...

PANTO WARS! Which is the Beauty? And which is the Beast? Christmas 2025 has Beauty and the Beast as the seasonal pantomime at the Fairfield Halls. And Beauty and the Beast is also on at the Churchill Theatre, just a short bus ride away in Bromley. Oh yes…

PANTO WARS! Which is the Beauty? And which is the Beast? insidecroydon.com/2025/12/26/p...

Coombe Lodge open at last, but it doesn’t seem quite finished EXCLUSIVE: After a three-month closure for a £1m refurbishment, what is it like in the first Wetherspoons pub to open in Croydon for 25 years? KEN TOWL went to find out They reckon that last year, …

At the Coombe Lodge 'Spoons, the toilets are not just far away; they are also small... Cinsidecroydon.com/2025/12/23/coombe-lodge-...

Strange world evoked by surreal assemblages of NDP Fraser There was a one-day-only, not-to-be-missed art exhibition in a house on Portland Road. KEN TOWL made sure he didn’t miss it I went to Portland Road the other Saturday, to see what was behind …

Strange world evoked by surreal assemblages of NDP Fraser insidecroydon.com/2025/12/19/s... Dairy of an artist?

A huge thank you to @kentowl.bsky.social and @insidecroydon.bsky.social for a lovely review. You really shouldn't miss it! Get your tickets from twcoulsdon.org.uk

By George! She’s Got it! My Fair Lady’s a triumph for Scorziello FIRST NIGHT REVIEW: The classic Lerner and Loewe musical can be a challenge to stage even for the biggest theatre companies on the West End or Broadway. In Coulsdon this week, the local community c…

Well worth the price of admission... By George! She's Got it! My Fair Lady's a triumph for Scorziello insidecroydon.com/2025/12/14/b...

Intriguing secret societies offer more than conspiracy theories KEN TOWL delved into the little-known world of local literary societies, the ‘Lits’, where talk is cheap and at least the fruitcakes promise ‘no nuts’ I have discovered a hi…

Intriguing secret societies offer more than conspiracy theories insidecroydon.com/2025/11/25/i...

Intriguing secret societies offer more than conspiracy theories KEN TOWL delved into the little-known world of local literary societies, the ‘Lits’, where talk is cheap and at least the fruitcakes promise ‘no nuts’ I have discovered a hi…

Intriguing secret societies offer more than conspiracy theories insidecroydon.com/2025/11/25/i...

Our journey through Beaujolais provided a nouveau experience KEN TOWL’s unrelenting quest to uncover the best of Croydon culture sees him sent on some very demanding assignments. Thankfully, he managed to survive his latest “Spit or swallow?” I asked, …

I was very, very drunk at the time... insidecroydon.com/2025/11/22/o...

Apparent nod to The Pogues in two Mamdano-related stories in the Observer...

Keeping in the LOOP can get us from Coulsdon to Banstead WANDLE WANDERER: Crunching through the dried leaves of autumn makes this one of the better times of year to go off on a ramble. But avoiding the worst of the weather is something KEN TOWL discovere…

Keeping in the LOOP can get us from Coulsdon to Banstead insidecroydon.com/2025/11/09/k...

Art in York

It’s the final countdown as Rowland reflects on our mortality KEN TOWL considers Plato, kingfishers and Ian McKellen’s balls in an hour-long Croydonites Festival performance which could never over-run James Rowland is dead. Well, sort of. The end was in…

It's the final countdown as Rowland reflects on our mortality insidecroydon.com/2025/10/19/i...

Croydonites provides a front-row seat for hard-hitting comedy The 2025 Croydonites Festival is well underway, and KEN TOWL could not resist the chance to go along to see the sold-old Dick’s Picks (geddit?!) Dick Denham had been tasked with curating a ra…

Croydonites provides a front-row seat for hard-hitting comedy insidecroydon.com/2025/10/13/c...

Ghosts that stalk our streets and the history we learn from them KEN TOWL sets off to find as many ghost signs as he can According to Historic England, ghost signs are “typically historic hand-painted advertising signs or old shop signs preserved on buildings th…

Ghosts that stalk our streets and the history we learn from them insidecroydon.com/2025/10/07/g...

Alan Partridge might not cope with his £1 breakfast at Ikea Hej!, as they say in Sweden, the latest cut-priced customer offer at the large homeware store could keep KEN TOWL returning to Ampere Way all the way until Christmas When a colleague who often take…

Alan Partridge might not cope with his £1 breakfast at Ikea insidecroydon.com/2025/09/29/a...

Does Jeremy know?

Davis’s big launch might have been good, if only I could hear it POLITICAL SKETCH: Ever been invited to a party when you’ve been expected to pay for your food? Or a launch event which is set up so you can neither see nor hear clearly the speakers on stage?…

Davis's big launch might have been good, if only I could hear it insidecroydon.com/2025/09/22/d...

iC writers go on a quest: find a way through the Whitgift Centre For the past year, one of Croydon’s MPs has worked from an office deep inside the Whitgift Centre. But just where? With the shopping centre’s managers blocking off entrances and removin…

iC writers go on a quest: find a way through the Whitgift Centre insidecroydon.com/2025/09/01/i... You can't find anything in the Whitgift any more...

At the Tate Britain: "Orange, White and Black Composition" or a pint of Guinness on a bar?

From Westerham to Bletchingley, we retrace our walker’s steps WEEKEND WANDERINGS: Continuing our tradition of providing guides to readily accessible walking routes in and around Croydon, KEN TOWL set off in the footsteps of this website’s original guide…

From Westerham to Bletchingley, we retrace our walker's steps insidecroydon.com/2025/08/15/f...

Do you think the new Corbyn/Sultana group (supposedly on around 10% of the national vote) will be chasing Labour votes in mostly the same wards/constituencies? Is there a danger that, in chasing the progressive vote, the Greens and Corbyn cut each other in half?