Catford Dreams

I started off with a vague idea for an episode on staircases, based on what my toddler likes around the house, and ended up with this.
A staircase is never just a staircase, because small steps, done properly, really can shift the mood of an entire neighbourhood.
Here's an article about the missing Catford Green bridge - https://ladywell-live.org/2021/01/17/austen-steps-up-campaign-for-catfords-missing-bridge/
and another - https://www.salamandernews.org/is-catford-station-links-project-moving-at-last/
This is the book I mention by Jos Boys - https://disordinaryarchitecture.co.uk/start-learning/doing-disability-differently-book

Ciarán is a Lewisham based creative director and founder of Renegade Production, a digital media and content studio. He has over twenty years of experience spanning photography, videography, music production, digital strategy, editorial work and campaign development. He is also central to the Keystone initiative, helping to drive its community focused vision and direction.
In general,and in this episode, Ciarán and I keep returning to Milford Towers for different reasons.
Keystone will be launching through a special event on June 25th. Follow their progress here:
https://www.instagram.com/keystone.selondon/
and here: https://www.renegadeproduction.co.uk/keystone
Here's a video he made for Team Catford: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CKt0Dw1n-Mx
Here's a music video he made in Catford for Sonny Green: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zxvQxepzMM&list=
and here's the promo clip for the boxer he mentions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlEXZKr27SA
You can find a more negative take on Milford Towers here, including a link to the 2011 report I mention - https://www.salamandernews.org/milford-towers-residents-voices/
However, you'll struggle to find many designers who can take the following statement seriously:
'Milford Towers has limited aesthetic merits and architectural interest, however it is not a fine example of brutalism, nor innovative in terms of its design or concept. It is considered that Milford Towers does not possess the architectural quality or historic interest to meet the listing criteria.'
Catford deserves more imagination than the assumption that any change is automatically progress.

I am running for the Green Party in Catford (Rushey Green) in the local elections on May 7. You can follow me here - https://www.instagram.com/catfordreams

The choice is simple. More of the same with Labour, or the kind of change I talk about in this episode. Only Labour or the Green Party can win this election.
If you live in Catford, there's a good chance you live in the Rushey Green council ward. The map can be found here: https://lewisham.gov.uk/mayorandcouncil/elections/ward-maps

Here is an article covering Zack Polanski’s recent visit to Lewisham: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/05/green-party-lewisham-zack-polanski-labour

You can register to vote here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-voteand apply for a postal vote here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote

My running mates are Samantha Gardiner and Claire Wills. Here are their Instagram accounts for the election:
https://www.instagram.com/samanthagardinerforrusheygreen/
https://www.instagram.com/clairewillsforrusheygreen/
Promoted by Daniel Dream, Green Party, PO Box 78066, London SE16 9GQ.

There are yellow bricks all over South East London, forming our homes and the school walls opposite my house. These bricks were once dug from the brickfields that used to stretch across Lewisham.
A wall marks where responsibility lives.
Things mentioned:
The essay on the Berlin Wall by Rem Koolhaas:
https://www.scribd.com/document/235581097/The-Berlin-Wall-as-Architecture
The BFG appears next to Holbeach Primary School in this advert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaF1my5h-Os
A 360-degree view from above Blythe Hill Fields:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/1WVzRmHjKt5iDUMq5
Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah was a student at Holbeach Primary School who died as a result of air pollution aged nine. Her mother's campaigning can be supported here:
https://www.ellaroberta.org/about-ella
--
Since beginning work on this episode, I have been selected to run as a candidate in Catford (Rushey Green) in the May local elections. With the possible exception of one episode, this will not change the podcast, as this is who I am regardless. Legally, I have to say: Promoted by Daniel Dream, Green Party, PO Box 78066, London SE16 9GQ.

I’ve been seeing a lot of parakeets in a lot of different places recently, and thinking about how we can turn Goldsmiths moving to Catford from a good idea into an absolutely outstanding one.
Here’s the Instagram account linked to the podcast: https://www.instagram.com/catforddreams/
And here’s a short piece on the artists being displaced as a result of the Goldsmiths move: https://lewishamletter.co.uk/artists-face-being-forced-out-of-capital-due-to-council-studio-eviction/

The five principles mentioned are:
Radical Openness
Protecting Legacy Businesses
Community Wealth
Renter Protection
Ground-up Culture

There’s a huge amount of material online about the work of Stuart Hall (1992-2014), worth exploring.
Shepherds, not sheep.