The new England captain is from Peckham

Newsflash: Rio Ferdinand has been handed the captain's armband for England's friendly game tomorrow night in Paris against the French. As I have no real interest in the result of the match, being an Anglo-Frog, (born in England, living in France) I just want to express my happiness that finally Rio has been made captain of England.

Granted John Terry, Stevie G and Becks has been overlooked and Fabio Capello has made it quite clear he will be rotating the captaincy of the team until the World Cup qualifying campaign gets under way, later this year, but it is a boost to the youths from South London who I hope will see Rio's stepping stone as an indication of what is possible when you come from the land of cheap DVD's and knock off Gucci watches.

6 things you never knew about Peckham:

1) The Police Station in Peckham was the first fortress built station in Britian. Officially it does not exist hence the reason it took so long to find the killers of Damiloa Taylor, although the murderers lived less than a mile from the fortress.

2) There was a time back in the 1980's when Peckham was the temple, in terms of good quality weed and hash. The names of Lamb's bread and High grade were to us, like Versace is to clothes.

3) Now boasts of record numbers in school truancy, teenage pregancies and gun crime. In fact it's cheaper to get a gun in Peckham than to buy a mobile phone on contract.

4) Once boasted of having a nightclub, by the name of Mr B's that in it's heyday could put Stringfellow's to shame.

5) The best Barbershop, this side of the water in Bellenden Road barbers.

6) Infamous for having the number 1 McDonald's to have been shot up. The Peckham branch of McDonald's has had 127 bullet and gun shots since opening back in 1993. Even more so than McDodo's in Brooklyn New York or Compton in L.A. Southside.......

tspoonfr