Issue 19 / Autumn 2020 FOLLOW THE HERD BLACK HISTORY LOCKDOWN Rediscover your MONTH HEROES THIS favourite shopping Sokari Douglas Elephant Says Hi centre traders at Camp talks steel, celebrates the locals Castle Square and sculpture and who came to the rescue ISSUE Elephant Arcade Southwark during lockdown 2 The Elephant The Elephant 3 Published by Southwark Council Editor Richard Wells Additional copy THIS IS THE Nikki Spencer Noella Pio Kivlehan Main Photography Hannah COVID-19 Maule-ffinch ELEPHANT Cover photo Sokari Douglas And this is the Elephant Magazine. Camp Designer CASES ARE Nathan Heins, Westco Creative he Elephant Magazine is the publication dedicated to all things Elephant and Castle. We want to celebrate all Printed by Tthat is fabulous about our neighbourhood and our Swiss Post community. We want to look back with fondness on the Enquiries area’s past and look forward with optimism to the future. INCREASING councilnews@ The Elephant is changing and the Elephant Magazine will southwark.gov.uk be following every step of the way. We welcome your ideas, comments IN SOUTHWARK and contributions, so please get in touch. We can beat it together, Photography from left to right: by staying apart. East Street sign; Trieve and Kayode from Enterprice; dinner at Paladar; Castle Centre sign; Elephant Says Hi; Elephant statue www.nhs.uk/coronavirus Keep in touch Visit us at elephantandcastle.org.uk Email [email protected] to be added to our mailing list for digital updates: use the word KEEP UPDATES in the subject line, SOUTHWARK followed by your postcode. SAFE 4 The Elephant The Elephant 5 Two people, who went out of their way to help others during lockdown, have been named as Local Hero Award Winners. chef who cooked thousands of and other local services to ensure that stop-off point for everyone from bus meals for those in need and a their meals went to where they were drivers, ambulance crews and police Akiosk owner who stayed open most needed. officers (Adramo gave them all a throughout the pandemic, dispensing “Looking back, I’m not sure how we hefty discount) to many other local coffee and kind words, have both been did it” says Rachel. residents who just needed a coffee given Local Hero Awards by Elephant “We went from providing about a and a chat. “It can really make a big WE CAN BE Says Hi (ESH); a community project hundred meals per week to around a difference to someone’s day to say WE CAN BE designed to make Elephant and Castle thousand” adding that it was very much ‘Hi, how are you?’ especially if you the most welcoming place in London. a team effort. “None of this would have live alone. I might be the only person Liza Makarov and Jenny Sawyer from been possible without those who helped the customer has spoken to all day” ESH asked for nominations from the in the kitchen and all the volunteers who says Adramo. local community at the beginning of June delivered the meals and coordinated “At that time, there were shortages in and the winners were announced in July. everything” she says. supermarkets. A few of my customers Not long after lockdown began, Rachel worked in the local Sainsbury’s, so when Rumbol started Neighbours in Need with I heard that they had a delivery of milk or Chris Greenwood, owner of Walworth whatever I would let people know.” cafe, Louie Louie. Over the next few It’s wonderful Adramo adds “I feel very much a part months, she and her helpers cooked of the local community now. I know more than 3,400 nutritious, free meals how people have many of my customers by name and for vulnerable people, including those although most shops and cafes have who were homeless, shielding, on free helped each other since reopened, they keep coming back school meals or waiting for access to here and supporting me as a way of food banks. during such a saying thank you, which is lovely.” HEROES They also teamed up with Meals for the “It’s wonderful how people have helped HEROES NHS to provide a further 7,400 meals to each other during such a difficult time difficult time NHS workers who were unable to access and it goes to show what a caring local shops or cafes during lockdown. community we have here in Elephant “Like everywhere else, Louie Louie had and Castle” says Liza Makarov. to close its doors and the kitchen was “Lots of people have told us that they She adds “Both the winners received lying unused, so it made sense to use don’t know how they would have coped certificates and an Elephant Says Hi both the space and my cookery skills without this help.” hoodie. Adramo also received a bottle to help others” explains Rachel. For more than a year, Adramo Tezgazzi of champagne and Rachel a “digital Once she got started, Rachel was soon has run The Kiosk in Elephant Park, hamper” which contained vouchers from working in the kitchen on a daily basis, a coffee stall offshoot of Mercato local businesses, including Diogenes cooking everything from chilli con Metropolitano (located nearby, in the Dog, Black Cowboy Coffee, Tasty carne to roast chicken and a range of Newington Causeway). Jerk, Art in the Park and Blue Elephant vegetarian meals. When lockdown began, Adramo shut Theatre. So my thanks also go to all Rachel and Chris got an £8,000 up shop for a few days before realising those who supplied prizes.” grant from Southwark Council and that he was allowed to stay open and crowdfunded a further £10,000 to pay that people would need a hot drink and for the project. They also worked closely a warm welcome now more than ever. www.elephantsays-hi.com with North Walworth Mutual Aid Group The Kiosk soon became a regular THETHE OTHER OTHER NOMINEES NOMINEES Amy Gray, Beza, Irene Hayes, Hatch Enterprise, Richard Galpin, owner of Dragon the Ethiopian Superarts Academy, which helped from Pembroke Castle, who made restaurant which who provided online to support local House, who helped dozens of free cooked meals dance classes and businesses through to get food to masks for NHS for NHS staff and support for students the pandemic those most at risk cancer centres the homeless and families during and in need Rachel Rumbol Adramo Tezgazzi lockdown The Elephant The Elephant 7 Elizabeth Duque, Medellin Y Su Moda Find me in Women’s fashion Castle Square “The inspiration behind my shop has Despite the centre closing, I’m confident always been about helping women to be of keeping my customers. Being in more confident, so they can feel beautiful Castle Square will mean my doors and love themselves. are open to all – to existing customers and new customers – as well as to Over the ten years that I operated in the new opportunities. centre, I acquired many loyal customers. For them, it’s not just about the clothes, Yes, it’s sad that the centre has closed it’s also about the body shapers and how but you also need to look at the positives my garments can help women of all and live your life in a positive manner. shapes; including those who want to The redevelopment of the centre will lose weight or change their lifestyles. help the area, hopefully. I get customers from different parts of Personally, I’m excited about the move. Follow the herd England and the whole world. One lady Once COVID is over, I’d like to expand and comes from Italy specifically to get my grow my business. I want to help women – The Elephant and Castle shopping centre, which is set to be redeveloped jeans because she loves them. not just around Elephant and Castle – but around London and the world.” as a new town centre for the neighbourhood, closed in September. It will be much missed by many local shoppers as well as by those for Faye Gomes, Kaieteur Kitchen Find me in whom it was simply a famous landmark. But the centre’s customers won’t Guyanese food stall Castle Square have far to go to find their favourite stores. Most of the independent “I came here in 2003. I bought an existing I do outside catering and I had a lot of businesses that operated in the centre can now be found just a stone’s throw food stall that was originally located at the customers who wanted to eat at the front of the market (outside the shopping market, but because of the standard of the away. So come with us as we follow the herd. centre) before moving to the back, where shopping centre they didn’t come. Castle the food mall is. Square is much better, and I’m fortunate because now I’ve got a seating area, too. The centre changed a lot during that time. Back then, you had the bowling and I’ll keep the same dishes but I’ll also create Luz Villamizar-Lizcano, Lucy’s Hair Find me in the bingo and other nice places that different ones so there’s always something Hair salon & beautician Elephant Arcade people could come and enjoy. They are new and exciting to look forward to. all gone now. Going to Castle Square is a new chance “When I came to London in 1985, I hadn’t made up of all the customers and traders at But the closure of the centre is an and a new start. Moving will create a bigger mastered the language and I was still the shopping centre.