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🌞Weather
Good morning, Croydon.
Right then. It's May. The election is seven days away. The beavers are still pending. And Darth Vader's gym opens on Monday. Croydon, you never disappoint.
🗓️ Upcoming Events
See link in the outro below to self submit your events
2nd May
The Kiosk open 9am to 2pm The Kiosk Linktree
YA+ Reading Group - Aged 17-25 - Croydon Central Library 3-4pm
St Peter’s Church Mini Market - 10am - 12:30 (Ledbury Road, CR01EP)
4th May
The David Prowse Gym in Ashburton Park
9th May
The Kiosk open 9am to 2pm The Kiosk Linktree
📰 MORNING PULSE
🗳️ ELECTION COUNTDOWN: 7 DAYS — AND IT'S GETTING SPICY
The JLPartners MRP poll of 2,000+ Londoners puts Reform's Ben Flook within striking distance of the Town Hall. Inside Croydon reports the race is "too close to call" with Rowenna Davis (Labour) and Jason Perry (Conservative) also in the mix. Seven days. Every vote counts. Bring ID.
🔪 KNIFE CRIME DOWN 24% — CROYDON'S QUIET WIN
Since 2023, knife crime down 24%, personal robbery down 29%, burglaries down 19%. Overall crime down 4.1%. Not the Croydon the national press likes to write about but the real one.
🏠 PRIVATE RENTERS: NEW LICENSING SCHEMES INCOMING
Two new private sector property licensing schemes approved by Cabinet, in effect from 1 September 2026, running five years. If you rent privately in Croydon, this one's worth knowing about.
🎨 THE CROYDONIST TURNS TEN — FREE EXHIBITION
Croydon's beloved creative platform celebrates its 10th birthday with a free exhibition at the Click Clock Art Gallery, Clocktower Café, 5–29 May. Monday to Saturday, 9am onwards.
💛 HEARTBEAT
The Orchestra That Outlived Everything
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Croydon's own composed Hiawatha's Wedding Feast in 1898. It became one of the most performed choral works in Britain for decades. He died at 37. The orchestra he inspired is still going, 120 years later, preparing to perform what Peter Gillman calls "the greatest symphony ever written."
There's something quietly extraordinary about a piece of music outlasting the man who wrote it by more than a century and still being performed in the borough where he grew up.
🗓️ WEEKEND GUIDE
Fri 1 May to Sun 3 May
🎭 FRANKIE'S GUYS @ FAIRFIELD HALLS — Saturday 2 May
A tribute to the Rat Pack era at South London's grandest venue. Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, Croydon CR9 1DG.
🎵 MAY BANK HOLIDAY EVENTS — ALL WEEKEND
Full rundown of Croydon's Bank Holiday weekend music, nightlife, food and drink.
🌳 SOUTH NORWOOD COUNTRY PARK — Any day this weekend
96% of residents backed bringing beavers here. While the council deliberates, the park is free, green, and genuinely lovely. Take the kids. Take the dog. Take a flask.
📅 LOOKING AHEAD: STAR WARS DAY — Monday 4 May
The David Prowse Outdoor Gym opens at Addiscombe Recreation Ground, Bingham Road 11am to 1pm, free, fully accessible. Darth Vader lived in Addiscombe. More in tomorrow's issue.
⚡ PULSE POINTS
🗳️ Election Day: Thursday 7 May — polls 7am–10pm, bring photo ID. Full info
🛡️ Safe Space now live at BOXPARK Croydon calm, inclusive space for anyone who feels unsafe on a night out
🧹 BID Cleansing Team Q4: 343 graffiti removals, 1,180 cleans, 26,228 sq metres. The unsung heroes.
🎨 Croydonist Exhibition opens 5 May at Click Clock Art Gallery free, worth bookmarking
🏆 ONLY IN CROYDON
Darth Vader lived in Addiscombe. Chewbacca worked at Mayday Hospital between Star Wars shoots. On Monday, a free outdoor gym opens in Vader's honour on Star Wars Day.
Only in Croydon do you get a borough where both the Dark Lord of the Sith and his co-star's day job were within a 10-minute drive of each other.
🗳️ THIS WEEK'S POLL
With 7 days to go, who wins the Croydon mayoral race?
A) Jason Perry — the incumbent holds on 🔵
B) Rowenna Davis — Labour takes it back 🔴
C) Ben Flook — Reform shocks everyone 🟠
D) The beavers — they've been here longer than all of them 🦫
🎲 CROYDON FACT THAT SOUNDS MADE UP (BUT ISN'T)
Croydon was home to the world's first international airport Croydon Aerodrome, opened in 1920. Amy Johnson, Charles Lindbergh, and Amelia Earhart all passed through. It's now a housing estate. Progress.
👋 OUTRO
That's your Croydon fix for Friday. Big weekend ahead enjoy it, and see you on the other side of the Bank Holiday.
Got an event to share? Submit it here
Croydon Local Pulse — keeping it real since before it was cool.
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