29 January 2006

I'm afraid that Transport For London's Camera network seems to be offline, so for the moment we have blue squares where cams of Deptford and Catford should be. Fingers crossed this will be sorted out soon.

MP makes exhibition trip

CULTURE minister David Lammy visited a museum to see an exhibition. Mr Lammy visited the Amazon to Caribbean, Early Peoples of the Rainforest exhibition at the Horniman Museum in London Road, Forest Hill. He was given a tour by Dr Hassan Arero, the first black curator to be appointed by a British museum.

Mayor defends Met chief’s allegation of media racism

The London mayor has defended comments made by the Metropolitan police commissioner, where he claimed that the media is institutionally racist due to the way murder cases are reported in the mainstream press. The comments made by Sir Ian Blair have caused a furore forcing him to apologise to the families of two girls murdered in Soham after he questioned why the story generated such a media frenzy compared with many other cases involving victims from ethnic groups.

During the meeting, the commissioner said the murders of those from ethnic communities will not generate the same amount of interest. “That death of the young lawyer was terrible, but an Asian man was dragged to his death, a woman was chopped up in Lewisham, a chap shot in the head in a Trident murder- they got a paragraph on page 97,” he said during the meeting.

Taking to the streets for pension protest

ELDERLY residents joined forces and travelled to the capital to campaign for a better deal. Around 60 pensioners from Lewisham, Greenwich and Bromley took part in a national pensioners' march in central London. The pensioners marched on Whitehall to try to convince the Government to agree to an increase in the state pension.

Laurence gets second chance

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is having a second go at the £1 million jackpot on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? after a mix-up over the top question. Llwelyn-Bowen, who lives in Blackheath, was asked about the English translation of the US's Latin motto. But programme maker Celador later admitted the question was "ambiguous".

Two-year diary tells of gran's ‘atrocious’ treatment at hospital

HOSPITAL bosses have promised an "urgent investigation" into claims it subjected an elderly patient to "neglect" and "atrocious" treatment. Linda Holmes makes the claims in a damning two-year diary of her mother's treatment at Lewisham Hospital. In the diary Mrs Holmes says her 74-year-old mother Rose Matthews, who died last November, suffered due to a catalogue of errors.

No station upgrades due before Olympics

A deal announced with the East European Bank this month, will see £450million go towards setting up the new train line, including installing signalling systems and laying track. But passengers in Lewisham will have to wait before seeing any improvements to their stations on the line - New Cross, New Cross Gate, Sydenham, Brockley, Honor Oak Park and Forest Hill.

Massive facelift for Lewisham schools

AFTER a 'long and tortuous process', detailed plans for a massive rebuild and refurbishment of a borough's secondary schools have been agreed. IT HAS been hailed as a borough's largest schools spending project for half a century.

The investment in Lewisham is set to increase the number of school places by 870. Councillors at Wednesday's Mayor and cabinet committee agreed Lewisham's "strategic business case" for the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. The document will now be submitted to the Government for approval.

Planners decide on pool

SWIMMING facilities in Lewisham will be boosted after the borough's decison-makers rubber-stamped plans for a new pool. A 25m six-lane pool is expected to open at the Wavelengths centre, Giffin Street, Deptford, by spring 2008. Plans for the facility, which is expected to cost around £4m, were finalised by Lewisham's cabinet at a meeting last Wednesday.

Playtime is over

PARENTS are frustrated at the decision to close a playground which was a "lifeline" for stressed shoppers. The play area at Lewisham Shopping Centre, Lewisham High Street, Lewisham, was closed in November because of safety concerns. But parents are angry. They say the playground was popular with children and took the hassle away from their shopping experience.

Shortage of teachers as schools debt soars to £120m

Ten most indebted primaries:

Fir Tree Primary School, Sandwell, £483,839; Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Lewisham, £394,313; The Furness Primary School, Brent, £372,667; Matthew Boulton Community Primary School, Birmingham, £337,088; Westwood Park Primary School, Bradford, £293,602; St Augustine's C of E Community School, Bradford, £288,449; Abbey Hey Primary School, Manchester, £287,775; Gascoigne Primary School, Barking and Dagenham, £260,585; The Westborough Primary School and Nursery, Southend-on-Sea, £259,781; Amherst Primary School, Hackney, £247,469.