Ken Towl

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... Chttps://insidecroydon.com/2025/12/23/coombe-lodge-open-at-last-but-it-doesnt-seem-quite-finished/

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?

It’s a red-letter day for our ‘covid generation’ of school pupils CROYDON COMMENTARY: Secondary school teacher KEN TOWL on the sense of anticipation gripping the nation’s teens, and their parents and tutors, ahead of tomorrow’s big A-levels results re…

It's a red-letter day for our 'covid generation' of school pupils insidecroydon.com/2025/08/13/i...

Trout, Clarkson’s lager and scotch eggs on a cathedrals walk KEN TOWL, Inside Croydon’s regular walks guide, took a diversion last weekend, and with a group of old mates made a 20-mile pilgrimage between two of the finest medieval cathedrals in the wor…

Trout, Clarkson's lager and scotch eggs on a cathedrals walk insidecroydon.com/2025/08/08/t...

The review is in. Don't just take our word for it, the best amateur theatre is on your doorstep now. Read the review and then book tickets at twcoulsdon.org.uk

insidecroydon.com/2025/07/31/t...

Costa Del Croydon offers beach experience unlike any other Westfield’s latest sop for failing to deliver the long-promised regeneration of the town centre has been to have tons of sand dumped on the top of a shopping centre’s multi-storey car p…

The best beach in South London? insidecroydon.com/2025/08/01/c...

There’s a revolution going on in a wooded glade in Coulsdon ‘Man is the only creature that consumes without producing’ wrote George Orwell 80 years ago, but as the Theatre Workshop Coulsdon has shown once more, they certainly know how to produce…

There's a revolution going on in a wooded glade in Coulsdon insidecroydon.com/2025/07/31/t...

There’s a revolution going on in a wooded glade in Coulsdon ‘Man is the only creature that consumes without producing’ wrote George Orwell 80 years ago, but as the Theatre Workshop Coulsdon has shown once more, they certainly know how to produce…

There's a revolution going on in a wooded glade in Coulsdon insidecroydon.com/2025/07/31/t...

Pregnant with vulnerability, Gwilliam sets the scene for festival KEN TOWL ventured deep into an abandoned building site while full of hopeful expectation for a workshop performance ahead of the 2025 Croydonites Fringe I had seen Amy Gwilliam’s evil alter-ego, pr…

Pregnant with vulnerability, Gwilliam sets the scene for festival insidecroydon.com/2025/07/08/p...

Podcast: Our Croydon Insider panel looks at council’s crisis What will the appointment by government of Commissioners to run Croydon Council mean to you as a resident? After five years of ever-increasing bail-outs for Croydon’s cash-stapped council, wh…

Podcast: Our Croydon Insider panel looks at council's crisis insidecroydon.com/2025/06/30/p... #Croydon #CroydonInCrisis #Podcast @kentowl.bsky.social