Thoughts from the mind of Ben Welby

Tag: Croydon

What makes you feel at home?

The image shows a vibrant and welcoming scene outside a building. The building resembles a church with a large banner displaying the phrase "Welcoming Well". There are diverse groups of people, including men, women, and children, interacting and socializing. Some are sitting at tables enjoying food and drinks, while others are standing and chatting. The setting is lively and inclusive, reflecting a sense of community and togetherness. The background features urban elements with a mix of nature and cityscape.

After leaving the OECD one of the things I’ve been doing is volunteering with our church’s English School. And specifically I’ve been supporting the weekly classes run by Andy inside one of the hotels providing accommodation for asylum seekers.

This experience has been both humbling and incredibly impactful. It’s been such a privilege to spend Wednesday mornings with a diverse collection of people looking to the UK as the place where they want to build a new, safe, life. Our classes have ranged from 4 people to over 30 and in total I’ve met with over 100 people from more than 25 countries; all of them eager to improve their English.

You won’t be surprised that I didn’t support the anti-immigration rhetoric of the political right even before I joined my first class. But I really don’t think it would take more than a couple of mornings spent with these men, women and children for those that do to conclude that much of the way these needs are portrayed is warped and distorted. As you get to know people trapped in the limbo of asylum and learn about the obstacles people face, even after being recognised as refugees, I’m confident they’d actually become passionate advocates for wholesale renewal of our discourse and our practice.

Unfortunately, it’s going to take time to rethink our response to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers. So my prayer and hope is that a future government builds its policy from a place of compassion and grace. And that they recognise the worth of the individuals at the heart of the asylum process.

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Transforming Fiveways Croydon (or the bridge in my back yard)

The trouble with the A23

If you were designing London for 21st century traffic you probably wouldn’t build the A23. It’s only 53 miles long but because it starts at Waterloo Bridge and finishes in Brighton it’s got five different owners. In the 17 miles from Waterloo Bridge to the M25 it snakes through Kennington, Brixton, Streatham, Norbury, Thornton Heath, Croydon, Purley and Coulsdon.

So it’s hemmed in by residential property but it’s also the main artery for the ‘out of town’ shopping along the Purley Way and it’s the route to and from Gatwick. When Christine and I moved from Brixton we inched along it from A to B and back to A again (more than once). There were several pinch points in that journey but one of the ones we didn’t have to deal with is just to our south at Fiveways. Continue reading