East Surrey – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

Sutton Train Station - Just One of Many in the Area!

Sutton: The South London Area Officially Declared the Safest Place to Live in Britain! (17.9.2025)

17/09/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

The south London town of Sutton emerged as the nation’s safest place to live. It had an annual crime rate of 61 per 1,000 people and saw a 2.75 percent fall in crime year on year. Get Licensed also counted 230 public CCTV cameras per 1,000 people in Sutton and found a reoffending rate of 15.74 percent (the average rate across the whole of the UK is 26.5 percent). It added that ‘when there are crimes in Sutton, they tend to be robberies or thefts, with little to no reports of weapons possession’. Overall, the town earned a safety score of 8.09 out of 10.

Sutton: St Nicholas Church – Where Stone Eagle’s Dare! (13.9.2025)

13/09/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

Why did a Sutton Town Planner come up with the idea of a) demolishing the Old Rectory (which should have been a listed building), and b) placing the Gate-Eagles on two-plinths jutting-out of Council Flat walls? Was this an example of Free Masonry gone mad – or madder than their usual schemes? I spent about 15-minutes talking with a local historian in St Nicholas Church, Sutton, during an exhibition of the stain-glassed window and various stones. He told me that the Rectory Gates were originally in West Street – but the eagles ended up on the main road situated on the exterior walls of the new Council Houses – now named “Beech Tree Place” – effectively around the corner in a different street.

Sutton: St Nicholas Church – Stones & Stained Glass Exhibition! (8.9.2025)

08/09/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

Sutton is now part of Greater (South-West) London (formerly East Surrey) – and Churches are viewed (rightly or wrongly) as a type of museum, although I think St Nicholas is still in use despite Church attendance being very small across the UK. Our view (as non-Christians) is that these places should be properly and respectfully preserved – and the faithful be allowed to worship in them. On the other hand, as the Church of England is funded through general taxation (regardless as to whether the worker is Christian or not) – ALL people (providing the behave) should be able to frequent the building. We also love the squirrels, pigeons, rats, and mice which live in the graveyard.

Battersea Park: The Central Bandstand! (27.5.2023)

28/05/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

The River Wandle flows for around 9 miles – and originates in the Waddon Ponds and Carshalton Ponds area – a boundary area spanning East Surrey and Southwest Greater London (the London Borough of Sutton and Cheam). The River Wandle enters the right-bank of the River Thames in the vicinity now called ‘Wandsworth’. Both the river (and the place) are probably named after a mighty Saxon Warlord named ‘Waendel’ whose clan dominated a large swathe of Southern and Eastern England! Indeed, so powerful was this man’s reputation that his name came to dominate an entire British river!