Bedtime

I don't like the idea of declaring this blog dead, so let's just say that the blog is going on an extended vacation. The blog, like King Arthur, may have to rise again at some stage to defend the sacred hills of Lewisham, but for now - it's going to have a nap.

After eight months we've still not topped 5000 visitors and in blogging terms that's quite weak. I'd hoped that this project was going to expand to have other posters and contributors and grow to be more interactive with the people of Lewisham. That hasn't happened and the demand for a blog with news highlights just isn't there. It hasn't been helped by my move out of the borough either.

So thanks to all the regular readers, I'm leaving things up here for the google searchers - perhaps we'll be back again in the future.

Lewisham Prevails!

- Moe
31May06 ; Kent.

21 May 2006

Rapist faces life in jail for teen murder

A convicted rapist who abducted a teenage girl, strangled her and dumped her dismembered body in bin bags was jailed for life on Tuesday and told he would never be released.

John McGrady, 48, snatched 15-year-old Rochelle Holness from the street last September as she went to a phone box to call her boyfriend. He took her back to his flat on a rundown estate in Catford, south London, where he killed her.

Afterwards McGrady, a former butcher, cut her body up into five pieces using a hacksaw, the Old Bailey heard.

Blind workers forced to quit

A CHARITY has slammed a town hall for cutting off the cash that keeps two blind people in employment.

The council had been paying a grant for the pair to work at a factory in New Cross but in April informed them the money would be withdrawn.

The factory is run by Action for Blind People (ABP) and a spokes-woman said: "Lewisham council has made a very disappointing decision to withdraw funding, which will mean Mark Anderson and Jacqueline Gittens, who are registered blind, losing their jobs and being forced to live on state benefit."

Hospital staff are spat on, sworn at and racially abused

ACCIDENT & Emergency departments are never nice places to be, but for some members of staff they are proving downright dangerous.

Last year hundreds of hospital workers were kicked, punched, spat at and verbally abused and A&E staff take the worst of it.

Heart disease shock for Lewisham women

LEWISHAM women have the highest rate of heart disease in South London, it emerged last week. Figures from the British Heart Foundation showed levels of disease were the ninth highest in the capital with a death rate of 13 women per 100,000. The London average is 10 and the England average, 11.

The rate for men in Lewisham is 45 per 100,000, putting the borough in 18th place. Dr Mike Knapton, of the heart foundation, said: "These statistics help inform where most work needs to be done to reduce premature heart disease deaths in future.

Residents all shook up about vibrations

FED-UP residents brought a road to a standstill when they protested against buses bumping over speed humps.

Neighbours living in Sandhurst Road, Catford, say their houses are being "shaken to the core" every time a bus or heavy vehicle passes over the newly-installed speed humps.

Council moves datacentre to reduce costs

The London Borough of Lewisham is to transfer its datacentre to a new outsourcing provider in autumn.

The move will involve up to 70 former council employees, who five years ago were transferred to outsourcing supplier Fujitsu Services, transferring again as the council aims to save 20% of its IT and telecoms support costs....

Under the deal signed last week, the council will move 213 servers, including a storage area network, from Fujitsu Services to SunGard Vivista, said Roger Fowles, Lewisham’s head of ICT strategy.

14 May 2006

Oh dear. As predicted my posts are becoming less and less regular and with an average of fourteen readers a day (the majority of them being google searches) I'm wondering if anyone out there in blogland (or even Lewisham!) has any articles, news or features they want to contribute. After eight months, 3708 unique visitors from Australia to Switzerland and an average of 97 visitors per week - it looks like Lewisham News is running out of steam. Anyway, let's move on.


Cameras set racial poser on car crime

BRITAIN’S most senior policeman Sir Ian Blair is facing a race relations dilemma after the release of figures that reveal almost half the number of people arrested in relation to car crime in London are black. Last week the Met attempted to explain the high number of arrests among blacks by the fact that they make up a higher proportion of the population in areas such as Southwark and Lewisham in south London, where the ANPR units operate.

Green team prepares to make a difference

LEWISHAM'S most experienced Green Party politician, Darren Johnson, believes his group of six is in an influential position.

Although Labour still holds power through its directly elected Mayor, Steve Bullock, it is two seats short of a majority on the full council. Cllr Johnson thinks Labour will therefore have to take more notice of the views of the opposition.

Explosion halts rail commuters

PASSENGERS were evacuated from a train after a flash of light and smoke came from the engine carriage.

Some travellers thought there had been an explosion when they heard a loud bang at Hither Green railway station shortly before 8am on Wednesday. Commuter David Brett said: "There was a big explosion and we were told to get off. It sounded like something had crashed outside because there was a crunching sound. It meant there was a lot of disruption and I was very late for work ." Firefighters from Lewisham and Lee Green were called to the scene.

Mayor's back but party's majority is gone

Mr Bullock gained 25,129 votes including second preferences against his nearest rival, Liberal Democrat Chris Maines, who got 18,889. In 2002 Mr Bullock got 24,520 votes but his closest challenger was a Conservative who only got 9,855.

UK man denied bail

A 45-YEAR-OLD man from the United Kingdom was arrested on Thursday in El Socorro, mere hours before he was due to depart Trinidad for London.

Paul Anthony Samuels was held by members of the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau under ASP Franklyn Edwards on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, El Socorro. Yesterday, Samuels of South End, Catford in London, appeared before Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Magistrates’ Court charged with trafficking the cocaine.

Election

I'm sure you know what happened by now - no need to clog up blogger with election results when there are other sites that store them.

Mayor
All other Lewisham results

Special mention most go to both Andrew Brown and James Cleverly - let's hope that despite not winning, both of these fine gentlemen continue to be in the public eye as both are fine bloggers and nice guys - I'll never forgive you lot for not voting them in! (How's that for supporting both sides? ;)

06 May 2006

Benefit fraudster behind bars for collecting £14,000 illegally

A man was imprisoned for 16 weeks after raking in almost £14,000 through fraudulent housing and council tax benefit claims.

Michael Frith, 32, was prosecuted last Thursday by Southwark Council following an investigation by the authority's benefit fraud team.

He was found to have netted £13,545.19 illegally during a 20-month period.

During the investigation it emerged that Frith was receiving housing and council tax benefit from Southwark Council for a property in Dulwich while he was also collecting benefits from Lewisham Council for a property in Brockley.

Controversial mental health unit dropped

A CONTROVERSIAL planning application for a mental health unit has been withdrawn.

Dr Simon George wanted to demolish a former office block he owns in Ashby Road, Brockley, and replace it with a 22-bed facility.

He planned an eight-bed low secure unit for intensive psychiatric care, and a further 14 beds to be used either as a rehabilitation unit or to treat brain injuries.

Sexual predator caged

A MAN who raped a woman at knifepoint after she asked him for a cigarette at a bus stop has been jailed.

Robert Maw, of Temair House, in Tarves Way, Greenwich, was convicted of the rape of a 36-year-old woman at the Woolwich Crown Court and handed an indeterminate custodial sentence, recommended not to be considered for parole for at least five years, on April 26.

The court heard how the victim had been walking along Evelyn Street, Lewisham, at 3am on Sunday, May 1 2005 to visit a shop to purchase cigarettes when she saw Maw smoking at a bus stop outside Howard House.

Labour slaughtered in London

In Lewisham, Labour's Steve Bullock was re-elected as mayor at the second count, while the Liberal Democrat's Dorothy Thornhill was re-elected as Mayor of Watford.

Mayoral elections also took place in Hackney and Newham.