‘Bad-ass’ granny
Spotted in Camberwell: a granny with a pimped-up disability scooter tearing down the street with her grandchild in her lap.
Witnesses tell us the rebellious pensioner in her scooter was loudly blaring out hits by Michael Jackson.
The jazzed-up vehicle has a loud union flag covering and a very uncompromising personalised number-plate: ‘Bad ass.’
As Michael Jackson would’ve sung: “You know I’m bad / I’m bad / come on.”
We’d love to meet this bad-ass granny – get in touch with us at: editor@southwarknews.co.uk
Councillor’s guilty pleasure
Being a councillor is a stressful business. But one of Southwark’s number has found a novel way to relax: watching people conducting skin checks or eye exams.
When she’s sleepy, she tells us, she listens to videos of tapping sounds, paper stroking or uneven services.
If she’s more alert, she will watch videos of people pretending to be opticians, medical professionals or skin-care experts.
It is part of a phenomenon called ‘ASMR’. Fans swear that listening to certain sounds, such as whispers, or videos of people role-playing medical situations causes tingling in the scalp, and a feeling of relaxation.
She tells us her favourite ASMR performers are a lady called Emma (above), who goes by the name ‘Whispers Red’ and a new lady called Ting Ting.
Rowling in Rotherhithe
The borough is no stranger to being featured on TV shows and films, and JK Rowling is the latest to get in on the action.
Her Cormoran Strike detective series, written under the pen-name Robert Galbraith, have been adapted for telly.
Scenes for the latest instalment ‘Strike: Lethal White’ were filmed last week outside the YHA Thameside in Rotherhithe’s Salter Road, as part of the show’s pre-production.
Starring Tom Burke and Holliday Grainge, it is expected to hit our screens on BBC1 in autumn 2020.
What the Dickens is a weekly off-beat column inside the Southwark News every Thursday. Send stories to editor@southwarknews.co.uk