Diarmuid Burke

South West Londoner • 21/04/2023

Richmond councillor runs London Marathon for bereavement charity

A Richmond councillor is running in this weekend’s London Marathon in aid of a bereavement support charity.

Alexander Ehmann, a Liberal Democrat serving St Margaret’s and North Twickenham, is raising money for The Compassionate Friends.

Ehmann, who lost his brother to suicide, decided to fundraise for the charity after his mother pointed him to its work supporting grieving families.

He said: “I don’t want to use the expression taboo, but it’s a difficult subject to talk about.

“It’s the loss

South East Londoner • 17/04/2023

London's Dungeons & Dragons community rebuilds after lockdown

The Dungeons & Dragons community in London is back at the table, three years after lockdown forced it online.

The Role Play Haven, a social enterprise that organises games across the UK, was one of several groups affected by the pandemic.

Like the rest of the city’s population, they took their four London groups (in Lewisham, Stratford, Archway and Hammersmith) into the digital space.

Community director David Coulter, 31, said: “In hindsight it was the right decision, but at the time it was t

North East Londoner • 14/04/2023

Pokémon European Championships kick-off in London

The Pokémon European Championships kicked off today at the ExCel in east London.

Fans from across the continent made their way to the ExCel to compete in the Video Game Championships (VGC), Trading Card Game (TCG), Pokémon Go and Pokémon Unite.

London-based players were excited to welcome the community back to their city after the success of last year’s World Championships.

VGC player Ethan, 21, said: “The World Championships were here last year and it was a lot of fun to go to those.

“I hav

South East Londoner • 30/03/2023

Greenwich Park plans for future heatwaves

The team behind Greenwich Park is developing the park’s landscape for future heatwaves.

The land’s grass was badly scorched last year when the UK was hit by its driest July since 1935.

Michael Loughnane, Assistant Park Manager at Greenwich Park, said his team had a duty to sustain the park’s ecosystems during the hot summer months.

Loughnane said: “Last year we saw extremely hot temperatures over a prolonged period.

“While the good news is that scorched grass regenerates very quickly, we hav

North East Londoner • 01/04/2023

London branded world’s friendliest city (APRIL FOOLS)

London has been declared the title of World’s Friendliest City by Niceness Bureau International (NBI).

An irrevocable counting error resulted in the UK’s capital winning 100% of the vote, to the shock and confusion of attendees.

Millicent Murdering-Flunk, 48, vice-chair of the NBI’s chattiness and high-fives department, said that while the error may have slightly altered the result, it was still perfectly possible that the city could have won without it.

Murdering-Flunk said: “The world has b

South East Londoner • 24/03/2023

London's Finns vote in tight Finnish election

London’s Finnish community are voting early in their national election that takes place on 2 April.

The estimated 10,000 Finns that reside in the city have voted by post or at the embassy in Belgravia.

Mervi Mattila, service manager at The Finnish Church in Rotherhithe, said the election has been a hot topic among her community.

She said: “There is always talk of elections, as Finns are quite proud of their right to vote and take it seriously.

“I think Finns living abroad are not as party lo

South East Londoner • 24/02/2023

Low turnout invalidates University of Greenwich vote on staff strikes

Students at the University of Greenwich failed to turn out to a referendum on supporting university staff strikes.

Members of the Greenwich Students’ Union were polled online last weekend on whether to support the planned 18 days of University and College Union (UCU) strike action arising from pay and conditions disputes.

The vote was triggered by the body’s Board of Trustees after fears of disrupted teaching were raised by members of the student body.

However, the referendum results were ult

South East Londoner • 03/03/2023

Southwark MP Neil Coyle should be suspended, says report

Southwark MP Neil Coyle should be suspended from Parliament following allegations of drunken harassment, according to a parliamentary report.

Coyle, who was suspended by the Labour Party last year, is understood to have engaged in foul-mouthed and drunken abuse of a parliamentary assistant.

The Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP was separately accused of using abusive language with racial overtones towards journalist Henry Dyer.

An Independent Expert Panel (IEP) today recommended that Coyle be s