2 South London Press, Tuesday, October 14, 2014
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High hopes as ‘Banksy’ strikes
News IN BRIEF Pedestrian-friendly street proposals
BROCKLEY: People have until October 24 to give their views on plans to improve Coulgate Street. Lewisham council is consulting on a scheme to improve the road for pedestrians by laying new paving, widening some sections of the footpath and planting trees. Other measures include restricting traffic to one way and providing short-term parking for customers of local shops. Email traffic@lewisham.gov.uk to submit comments.
THERE were rumours that street artist Banksy had been at work when some graffiti appeared on the wall of a charity shop in South London, writes Hayley Richardson. Richardson. The stencil artwork was discovered on the wall of Fara Kids in Northcote Road, Battersea, and posted on Twitter by Wandsworth police. TV news programmes picked up on the story and one BBC reporter declared: “Looks like it’s legit!” Technically it is, but the South London Press can reveal that the “Banksy” behind the masterpiece is in fact Jemma Banks, Fara’s own marketing manager. Jemma, 38, who says her nickname is Banksy, paid homage to her famous namesake’s work No Future, which appeared in Southampton in 2011 and features a girl holding a balloon. “We put a different spin on it to present a sense of hope, rather than no future,” said Jemma. “This was a brilliant opportunity to do something to raise awareness for the charity and what it stands for.” Jemma said: “I’m genuinely amazed and flattered that people thought this is a genuine Banksy. Maybe it’s time to give up my day job!” Jemma, a trained artist, said she didn’t go undercover to put up the artwork. She said: “When you’ve got plastic bags stuck to the wall and a stencil that wasn’t working, it
Society to discuss town centre future
FOREST HILL: The Forest Hill Society annual meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 22. There will be an opportunity to put forward ideas on the future of the town centre. There will also be elections for the committee. The meeting is upstairs at The Hob pub, opposite Forest Hill railway station, from 7.30pm.
Theatre asks for audience feedback
OVAL: Bosses at the Ovalhouse theatre have launched a survey to find out more about their audiences. They want to know why people visit, their experiences and other things they like to do. Visit http://tinyurl.com/pdk3nlh to take part in the survey.
AT WORK: Jemma Banks
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wasn’t very secretive!” Fare has 13 Kids shops around London and raises money to help disadvantaged children in Romania. Jemma said the image of the little girl in the artwork is intended to signal to the local community that they can bring real hope to the lives of children. She said its placement “at the end of an affluent street” makes it into a piece of social commentary which, she hopes, will strike a chord with local children who pass the shop.
‘We should cherish NHS staff’
UNION SAYS MORALE IS ‘HITTING ROCK BOTTOM’
From page 1 priority calls, but lower priority calls were passed to the “double-staffed” police vehicles and patients were advised to only call 999 if it was a genuine emergency. Head of the operation, Commander Peter Terry, said: “The Met is often called on to offer help to people of London, and this is one of those times.” Yesterday’s walkout was expected to be followed by four days of action in which staff will stop working through their breaks. Linda Perks, regional secretary of Unison said: “NHS members don’t take action often or lightly. Staff are on average 10 per cent worse off than when the coalition came to power. This
Weather watch
By KATE GOULD means their families are suffering and morale is hitting rock bottom. “A well-motivated workforce saves lives, so we need to cherish and support our NHS staff who work day in, day out caring for others. “The NHS runs on the goodwill of its workers, but this Government has shown utter contempt for them by refusing to give any pay increase to the vast majority this year and next. “We are taking action for an immediate one per cent consolidated uplift for all staff, an increase to bring low paid staff up to the level of the living wage, an end to the pay freeze for 2015-16 and increases in the
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future that will restore the value of NHS pay. “The independent pay review body for the NHS recommended a one per cent increase to all pay points for all staff. However, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP ignored [it] and in March announced an unconsolidated payment for only a minority of NHS staff in England.” Meanwhile, Lewisham Hospital said it is investigating how a patient who was tested for Ebola was treated following “scaremongering”. The patient admitted to Lewisham Hospital A&E on Saturday night tested negative for the virus. A spokesman for the hospital said staff followed “appropriate guidance” when they treated the patient and
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used appropriate equipment including masks, aprons and gloves. However, he said that hospital bosses were looking into the incident and how the patient was managed by staff. He said: “This patient was confirmed negative for the Ebola virus. However, because of the scaremongering, we want to be clear and we are investigating it and how the person was treated.” He said the patient was isolated as a precaution, but said patients are routinely isolated for treatment for a range of symptoms and it wasn’t unusual. He said: “People come into the hospital and are isolated all the time. In this instance we followed all the procedures that we should have done.
“A clinical assessment was carried out and the patient was isolated as a precaution and as a number of patients are depending on the symptoms they present. “The patient was identified as having a low risk of Ebola, but at that stage staff didn’t know what the person could have had and our staff wore appropriate clothing. “We have robust procedures in place and we were right in the way we handled the situation.” The incident happened on the same day an eight-hour dress rehearsal for a UK outbreak took place. The drill in Gateshead involved paramedics, hospital staff and other officers from the emergency services.
kate.gould@slp.co.uk
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