The Croydon mural

The Croydon mural, featuring three Croydon choir members, was unveiled at the Whitgift centre on Monday January 31. Mayor Avril Slipper cut the ribbon in front of the mural, which she praised for enriching the cultural and community values of Croydon.      

CMVC members Jon Evans and Peter Gillman beside the Croydon mural.  Photo: Leni Gillman

There was a select but enthusiastic turn-out from the choir, who treated the officials and spectators to an impromptu rendering of My Lord, What a Morning.  Two members of the Croydon trio, Jon Evans and Peter Gillman, posed for photographs beside the CMVC panel of the mural.  The third Croydon member, Martin Perkins, was away on holiday.

CMVC serenades Croydon civic officials at mural ceremony

The two artists who painted the mural are Susan Beresford and Jeanne-Marie Eayrs, who wanted  to celebrate the community strength and cultural diversity of modern Croydon.  Susan and Jeanne-Marie are directors of Undercroydon, a project started in 2000 to increase public art and involve the local community in its development. 

Susan and Jeanne-Marie visited the Croydon choir during a rehearsal at Sandilands, and said they were moved by the choir's singing.  They shot video footage of the rehearsal which will appear on the project's website.

Other Croydon figures represented include athlete Twinelle Hopeson, Surrey Street flower seller Rosanna Lovett, and the North Wood Morris Men.  Croydon's Olympic medalist Donna Fraser also spoke at the ceremony.

The site of the mural is the passageway that runs between entrances to Allders and the Whitgift centre, behind the   Allders car park in Wellesley Road.  The choir's inclusion in the mural is a further indication of its increasing status and reputation in Croydon and beyond.

Choir members pose for photos with Mayor (with chain), Denise Lewis (right of Mayor) and Morrisman.

Jon and Peter with artists Jeanne-Marie Eayrs (left) and Susan Beresford

Photos by Leni Gillman