Town Hall Shake-Up, Vote Rigging in Court & A Croydon Artist Finally Steps Into the Light 🏛️

☀️ Morning Pulse

Scott Roche, Conservative councillor for Shirley South and cabinet member for streets and environment for four years, has been axed from Mayor Jason Perry's second-term cabinet. Inside Croydon reports Roche pocketed £40,000 a year in allowances while being described as one of the council's least active members -- he'll now serve as ceremonial deputy civic mayor at a reduced £20,133. Perry's reshuffle is otherwise minimal as he begins his second four-year term with a 1% majority.

Read more -- Inside Croydon

Four people linked to the Labour Party appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday charged with conspiracy and computer misuse. Joel Bodmer, Shila Bodmer, Carole Bonner and Gabriel Leroy are accused of manipulating a Labour Party database to rig the candidate selection for Croydon East ahead of the 2024 general election -- allegedly changing phone numbers and email addresses of 600 members to block rival candidates. They're next due at Southwark Crown Court on June 16.

Read more -- The Standard

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of the easyJet empire, has donated over half a million tins of soup to the Lambeth and Croydon Foodbank via the Trussell Trust -- part of his Stelios Foundation's "Food From the Heart" programme, now expanding to the UK for the first time after 12 years operating in Greece and Cyprus. The foodbank, which supports people "living in sheds," is currently in urgent need of tinned soup.

Read more -- My London

This week Croydon's Dementia Action Alliance -- bringing together the council, NHS, Alzheimer's Society and local charities -- is running free events across the borough including Dementia Friends sessions, creative workshops and open days. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia. Mayor Perry is backing a fundraising appeal to build a dementia garden at Croydon University Hospital.

Read more -- Croydon Council

💛 The Heartbeat

🥚 Hidden for a Decade: Croydon Artist Finally Shares Her Eggshell Masterpieces

In 2014, Croydon resident Sara Hayfa created a series of intricate artworks made entirely from eggshells while living in Morocco. For over a decade, they stayed hidden -- no gallery, no audience, just a passion kept quietly alive. This June, that changes. Sara is bringing her collection to Turf Projects at the Whitgift Centre for a completely free exhibition running June 3-27 (Wed-Sat, 11am-5pm). "This isn't a commercial sale," she says. "It is simply about finally sharing a passion that has travelled across borders and survived years of waiting." Sometimes the best things are worth the wait. 🙌

Read more -- Inside Croydon

COMMUNITY CORNER

East Croydon Cool -- Raving Reporters Recruiting -- the community content creator programme is open for a new intake. Follow @eastcroydoncool to apply. They've just hit 20,000 followers -- Croydon's creative scene is thriving.

Croydon Regeneration -- Your Voice Matters -- the conversation about Westfield/Whitgift, safer streets, and empty shops is getting louder. What do YOU want to see in central Croydon?

Dementia Awareness in Addiscombe -- Peony Court care home (58 Addiscombe Road) hosted a free community dementia awareness session this week, delivered by the Bromley Dementia Friends group.

💡 Did You Know?

Sherlock Holmes was born in South Norwood. Well, sort of. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- the man who created the world's most famous detective -- lived at 12 Tennison Road, South Norwood from 1891 to 1894. It was here, in a "prettily-built and modest-looking red-brick residence" just a short walk from Norwood Junction station, that he wrote 18 Sherlock Holmes stories. He also wrote The Final Problem from this very house -- the story where Holmes famously "dies" at the Reichenbach Falls. A blue plaque, erected by the Greater London Council in 1973 and now administered by English Heritage, marks the spot to this day. 🔍

Source -- English Heritage