The Sporting Landscape of New Cross

Update 16/3/2020: Unfortunately this event has been postponed. The Telegraph Hill Festival has been cancelled as a result of Covid-19. We hope to rearrange once things have calmed down.

Very excited to announce this event taking place in the 2020 Telegraph Hill Festival:

The Sporting Landscape of New Cross

Tuesday 31 March 2020, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Council Chamber, Deptford Town Hall, New Cross Road, New Cross, SE14 6AF

'Which internationally-known wrestler was said to be 'the most popular man in New Cross' in the late 19th century? Where was the country's first stock car race held? Which Goldsmiths athlete went on to coach the British Olympics team?  Which local school's playing fields were once graced by England’s greatest cricketer?

This event will include three talks on the sporting history of the New Cross area told through some of the places used to play, compete and spectate. The New Cross Stadium, the Den, wrestling and boxing gyms, horse racing and running tracks, cycling, roller skating, the New Cross Public Hall, Laurie Grove Baths, Fordham Park and more. As well as sporting venues (many now vanished) these places have been important centres of social and cultural life. 

Speakers include:

Sarah Elizabeth Cox  (Grappling with History) researching Victorian wrestling and trainee Lucha Libre wrestler

Prof. Les Back (Goldsmiths), sociologist including co-author of  'The Changing Face of Football: racism, identity and multiculture in the English game'

Neil Gordon-Orr (Go Feet), local historian and member of  Lewisham's finest Kent Athletic Club 

Tickets (£3) - available here

'I enjoy running, jumping, shouting'

In Fordham Park, New Cross there's a long steel plaque on the ground with some words on it from children at the local Childeric Primary School. The full text is 'I enjoy running, jumping, shouting and singing in an open space'. I do too! I've often run round or through that park. I may have sang in several nearby pubs, but not in the park itself, though I have certainly danced there in some of the wild ravey free festivals there in the 1990s.

When I first moved round here nearly 20 years ago there was actually a (now vanished) running track at the edge of the park. Anyone remember it?

High Flying Wrestling Action

As a British child in the 1970s, Saturday afternoons meant 'World of Sport' on ITV. At 4 pm, between the half time football scores and the final results, there was always wrestling with larger than life characters like Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy.

 I had a very entertaining flashback to those days last weekend when I went to see wrestling at the Amersham Arms in New Cross (once home to another 1970s wrestling legend, Mick McManus). I'd had a long day, starting off my cross country season with an arduous race on Wimbledon Common (Surrey League Division One), but I'm glad I left the pub celebrations early to make my way back to SE London as it was a great night out. The event, organised by Half Nelson and Kapow! promotions, was very much in the spirit of British wrestling's golden age. Pantomime heroes and villains were escorted to the stage to their own theme tunes played by houseband The Giant Haystackers (wearing Mexican wrestling masks) - including The Eye of the Tiger, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Panjabi MC's Mundian To Bach Ke.

photo from Half Nelson facebook page by James Sakal

There was chanting for local favourite The Trashman (Marcus Broome) - well he does run the great Deptford tattoo parlour Kids Love Ink (responsible for decorating my right arm) - and booing for the 'bad guys' Karl Atlas, Rishi Ghosh ('Prince of Mumbai') and 'Mr Massive' Chuck Cyrus. Other wrestlers included Dan 'The Hammer Head' and Dark Dragon.

Yes I know this is a running blog, but other sports are available - though of course some people would question whether this kind of wrestling actually is a sport. Well no matter how camp or choreographed the action can get, there's no denying its athleticism. You try flying through the air and landing on your back!

(photo from Half Nelson facebook page by Emily Austin)

Friday Photos (10): Running in the streets of New Cross 1953

This photo is of a group of women running in what looks to be a race in Knoyle Street, New Cross in South London. The photo was taken in 1953, I believe on June 2 when there were street parties across the UK to mark the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II (there are more photos from this same party at Plastic Plastic's remarkable series of old Deptford and New Cross photos). 

What I love about this picture is the sheer joy on the faces of these women running down their street in their party clothes. In addition this street is in the area where I run today - the street itself is still there though most of the old houses have long been demolished.

Previously in the Friday Photos series:

New York High School Runners 1970s

Lilian Board, 1948-1970
Running in Tel Aviv 1942
Alan Turing the Runner

Marilyn Monroe the Runner
Tom Longboat, Canadian First Nations Marathon Runner
Runners in Space: an image from Munich 1972 on NASA's Voyager spacecraft

Jim Peters collapses in Vancouver 1954

Anita Neil - Britain's first female Black Olympian?