This page is full of the articles I wrote while on a work placement at the South London Press. The experience taught and gave me transferable skills about the industry that I hope I am able to include in my own work and career.
Two Television Doctors helped inspire young people to “dream big” at a special event.
(25th October 2019)
Dr Ranj Singh, a star on Strictly Come Dancing and Dr Ronx, presenter of a children’s show, Operation Ouch visited the Evelina London Inspiring Youth Conference this week as part of the Evelina London Children’s Hospital attended by former and current patients.
Dr Ranj, said that: “It’s really important that we nurture and support young people to dream big and become the best they can be. It’s vital that they know how to stay healthy and be happy.”
The hospital offers services for people in the community of Lambeth and Southwark, Isabelle Everest, 13 said: “Meeting Dr Ranj and Dr Ronx and hearing how other young people overcame challenges they experienced in their life.”
“When I was little, my parents told me I could do anything I want, but I would just have to find a different way of doing it, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.
Isabelle gave an inspirational speech about her life and living with cerebral palsy and how she didn’t let it stop her winning the European Pan-Disability Championships for judo
in 2017 and 2018 with the help of life saving support from Evelina London Hospital.
Dr Ronx said: “I wanted to show young people that regardless of your upbringing and background you can do anything you want to do, with the right help, passion and dedication. My motto is ‘you cannot be what you can’t see’.”
The Director of Nursing at Evelina London, Janet Powell said: “At Evelina London we are here for our children and young people in every possible way and we want to inspire them to always strive to do their very best”.
Legendary American Author and LGBTQ+ Activist, has made London their new home.
(25th October 2019)
Born and raised in North Carolina, the heart of the conservatives, Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. has made his final move to live in Clapham, London.
However, so far, his move to his new home has been anything but peaceful.
A water tank burst which lead to a leak running all over his computer. Paired with intriguing stains on the ceiling, Maupin has defiantly not had the best welcoming to the city.
Armistead has found that from living in America with the constant narcissistic statements from Donald Trump makes moving to England a “nice distraction to have a beautiful big city with a serious cultural aspect to it.”
Armistead has recently announced his first ever UK tour.
The best-selling American novelist will be joined in conversation with award winning actor, Laura Linney in the evening of the 9th December at the Bridge Theatre in London.
He will look back at his favourite stories and ‘offering his own engaging observations on society and the world we inhabit.’
Armistead started off his career for the future senator, renowned racist and homophobe, Jesse Helms.
From there he signed up to the US Navy and served in several duty tours including the Vietnam War and won the Medal of Freedom for his volunteer work in Southeast Asia.
On his return, Armistead worked at a newspaper in San Francisco, from there began his ground-breaking success in 1976 when he released his iconic series Tales of the City in the San Francisco Chronicle.
A book of the Tales of the City was released in 1978 which follows the lives of three colourful characters living in San Francisco.
Tales of the City became a LGBT fantasy cult focus and subsequently led to Armistead releasing 5 sequels of Tales of the City in the 80s.
As a result of the novels huge success it was adapted in the early 1990s as a TV series with the series ending the 2001, with Laura Linney acting in the remakes of the books.
Twenty-six years Tales of the City returned to our screens with a special mini-series with some members of the original cast and new members reuniting with the community they left in San Francisco.
His novel, Maybe the Moon, followed the serio-comic adventures of a dwarf actress working in Hollywood and named one of the ten best books of the year by Entertainment Weekly.
The Night Listener 2000, a psychological suspense novel inspired by an eerie episode in Maupin’s own life, became a 2006 feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette.
In 2017 he wrote a memoir titled ‘Logical Family’ which grew out of his critically acclaimed one-man show of the same name.
Dubbed as ‘Americas ultimate storyteller’, with the help of many LGBTQ+ actors
Armistead over the years has been able to break new grounds for LGBTQ+ in literature and tv not just by writing about homosexual or transgender characters but also including the troubles they go through physically and mentally.
Armistead has won numerous awards including the ‘Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement’ from the Publishing Triangle of New York, the ‘Lambda’s Pioneer Award’ and the Visionary Award from the 2014 Outfest Legacy Awards for his collected novels.
Charity yoga sessions raising money for the homeless
(25th October 2019)
A yoga studio in Crystal Palace is offering yoga classes on the 1stDecember to raise money for Crisis at Christmas.
There will be two sessions for £8 and all money will go directly to the charity.
Crisis at Christmas provides homeless people with a warm and welcoming place to stay and eat during the holiday period.
Sarah who runs the Cabin yoga sessions every year for Crisis at Christmas said: “I get very upset seeing how many homeless people there are in London. By offering the classes I feel I am doing a little bit to help.”
To book these special classes call/text Sarah: 07956 299248
A London leisure centre has launched a new initiative to help combat loneliness for elderly individuals.
(18th October 2019)
The “Generation Games” at Seven Islands Leisure Centre, aims to bring elderly people together by getting them involved in group activities such as playing darts, table tennis, board games or pool.
The leisure centre is starting this social event every Thursday from 10am-12pm with the support and funding from The National Lottery Community Fund.
Sessions for the individuals will be a way for them to meet new people whilst also getting active in a supportive environment for only £2.50 per person.
The Community Development Manager at Everyone Active, James Tierney said: “Whilst we are all so busy going about our day to day lives, we may forget what it’s like for elderly adults in our community who may be spending the majority of their day by themselves.”
For more information please call Seven Islands Leisure Centre on 020 7237 3296 or visit www.everyoneactive.com
Brixton Flat Caught Ablaze
(18th October 2019)
25 firefighters fight for nearly an hour and a half to control a blazing fire.
At 6:00pm on the 10th October the fire department responded to a call to a five-story flat on Gosling Way, Lambeth.
The fire was contained within the kitchen of a flat on the third floor but took the aid of 4 fire engines and 25 men to control.
Fire crew were called from Brixton, Lambeth and Clapham stations to help with the fire at the scene.
Faulty trains led to severe delays for London Tube commuters this morning.
(18th October 2019)
Transport for London (TFL) engineers found faults with many of the Jubilee Line trains and have taken them out of service for continual testing.
Brian Woodhead, Director of Customer Service, London Underground, said: “As part of our regular and rigorous safety inspections we uncovered a fault with some of our Jubilee line trains yesterday”.
The line has severe delays which are expected to continue throughout the day as the service is cancelled between East Finchley and Waterloo.
Customers told to use alternative routes where possible and to continue to check for updates.
London Underground tickets will be accepted on C2C, London Buses, DLR, London Overground, TFL Rail, South-eastern and Thameslink.
Early prevention groups and mental health awareness for children are being disparaged by the local communities.
(11th October 2019)
As the growing dangers for street knife crime continues on the streets in South London the act for early prevention crime groups still comes to a halt which is leading to the worrying increase of children’s mental health.
This week the announcement that the Rio Ferdinand Foundation and the Aspire Academy would form a partnership with the aim to combine early crime prevention and mental health is for the children of South London.
The Aspire Academy focuses on young “boys who have lost their motivation” and to try and educate them in football whilst also allowing them to gain the qualifications they need to move further with their lives.
As fear installs a sense of anxiety and if someone feels at risk or unsafe then they are more likely to carry something like a knife in order to protect themselves.
The perception and coverage of young people in the South London communities is mainly negative, a reason why the Rio Ferdinand Foundation and Aspire Academy have launched South London 4 South London campaign with Dulwich Hamlet FC.
However, their early prevention anti-crime groups seem to receive less publicity and media coverage as communities believe that it will put a negative perception on the children within the community acting as a limiting belief to the group.
Gavin Rose, founder of The Aspire Academy said we are “making it an opportunity for the individual” tailoring the education and sport to the specific boy so that they won’t be on the street after school but in a job they love.
The Public Health Model was set up to help children ages 5-12 who have been traumatised by violence, not just street crime but also domestic violence that happens within their own homes.
They’re combatting this problem by putting in social workers into schools to help notice the children who are struggling and offering support to tackle the problem.
Since the start-up of the model in Strathclyde, Scotland where murder rates were the second largest in Europe, murder rates have decreased by 39% over the 10-year span of implicating the Public Health Model.
Nyran Clunis, local footballer at Dulwich Hamlet football club, started his career through the Aspire Academy at the age of 14. From the same Peckham estate as Ferdinand and Rose, Clunis used the academy to find his path whilst also getting an education. He is now a successful footballer at the club and is grateful for the opportunity that he was able to have whilst being in the Academy and believes that without the Academy’s help, he would have never been able to grow as a person.
As fitting as it may seem the press conference took place within mental health awareness week which reinforces the idea of how children’s mental health can stop their motivation for wanting them to find the opportunities and a path to focus on.