This week 10, 20, 30 years ago

10 years ago

A fun-loving band of ukulele players have bounced back from a technological setback in time for their neighbourhood festival, pictured.

Local heroes the Dulwich Ukulele Club hope to release their debut album London Stone by May 7.

The initial recording took place in founder member Richard Guard’s kitchen near Lordship Lane in November.

Richard, 45, said: “The kitchen recording was full of technical glitches – the whole thing had to be scrapped. “But we have just recorded it in a fantastic new studio. It’s been a brilliant few days.”

The band is made up of 12 fellow fans of the four-stringed instrument.

A prankster taking inspiration from a US artist has started putting up quirky “missing” posters in South London.

Posters asking people to be on the lookout for a missing unicorn and a lost crocodile have gone up in Melford Road, East Dulwich.

The identity of the joker remains a mystery.

The poster asks residents to check their sheds and outhouses for a lost crocodile – last seen chasing a unicorn towards Dulwich Park.

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20 years ago

A South London secondary school became the first “Fresh Start” school in England to be deemed a failure beyond repair and was to be closed down.

Telegraph Hill School in Wallbutton Road, Brockley, was one of 25 put through the Government’s Fresh Start scheme which saw failing schools reopened with new names, new staff and new uniforms.

Telegraph Hill opened on the site of the failed Hatcham Wood School in September 1999 using a £2million grant.

But after consultation with parents, governors, staff and teachers, Lewisham council officers concluded closure was the only realistic option.

Six-year-old Jaimie Boubezari was the envy of every child in London after being chosen from 2,000 hopefuls to be a consultant for toy store Hamleys.

Jaimie, of Elm Park, Brixton, even met members of pop band Hear’Say when they visited the shop in Regent Street, central London.

Jaimie, who was to get a £250 voucher from Hamleys for his work as a toy consultant, said he might buy a sword, a gun or a Zorro costume.

A new £20million city academy to increase the number of school places in the north of a borough was given the go-ahead.

Southwark council agreed to the City of London Corporation’s proposal to provide an academy for boys and girls with 900 sixth-form places.

Sites in Paterson Park, Bermondsey, and Canada Water were being considered for the school towards which the corporation was planning to put £2million in sponsorship.

The Department for Education was to pay for the school, which parents had lobbied for.

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30 years ago

Vauxhall Labour MP Kate Hoey was being driven round the bend after thieves stole her prized special edition Mini.

It was taken from outside her East Dulwich home, leaving the MP having to take the bus into work at Westminster.

Ms Hoey had owned the 30th anniversary model since 1989 and was appealing for the returned of her beloved car.

She said: “I have always had a Mini because they are so reliable.

“I would be really delighted to have it back.”

Crystal Palace manager Steve Coppell and his players had their sights set on European football following a hard-earned win against basement 3526nc club Derby.

The Eagles had nine games to go and were handily placed in third spot in Division 1 with five of their remaining matches at Selhurst Park.

Palace made the vital breakthrough in their 2-1 win when Ian Wright, was floored in the box and Andy Gray made no mistake from the penalty spot.

Then in the 81st minute Wright wrapped up the points with his 17th goal of the season after being set up by John Salako and Mark Bright.

Plans to install new escalators at Brixton Tube station were axed as London Underground bosses looked to tackle a £93million overspend.

The £680,000 plan was scrapped, leaving the busy station with two escalators which were installed in 1971, when it opened.

In the 20 years since it opened, the number of commuters had trebled with an estimated 18,000 people using the station during the evening peak period and more than 17 million commuters using it every year.

The bad news was delivered at the same time one of the two escalators was out of order, causing chaos during rush hour.

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Do you have any memories of stories in the South London Press from the past 10, 20 or 30 years that you would like to see reprinted again? If so, drop Alexandra Warren a line with details. Email her at alexandra@slpmedia.co.uk