The mill produced flour with wind power from 1816 to 1862, when its sails were taken down and it was used as a storehouse. The importance of historical memory has long been a central concern of Roma Tearne’s work as painter, installation artist and filmmaker since the 1990s. On 19 May this year the president of Sri Lanka officially declared the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, apparently bringing to an end 26 years of civil conflict. The duration, as well as the complex ethnic divisions, caused the Sri Lankan civil war to go unreported for long periods of time. As Roma Tearne observes: "the war had become a worn-out habit on the island ... the brutality of which was hardly noticed in the west. Other wars, more important ones in larger, richer countries, hit the headlines." Each weekend the roof will be raised withperformances from house, garage and disco DJs, plustraditional Latin American brass bands and cabaret. The line-up includes Ben Pearce, Norman Jay MBE, Late Nite Tuff Guy, Maxxi Soundsystem, Paul Woolford and PBR Streetgang. And if you thought Sunday was a day of rest, think again: the beach’s Sunday sessions will havesome of London’s top promoters,including Solid Grooves, Metalheadz, Midnight Riot and Supa Dupa Fly, taking over the roof for Cuban-style parties. The rise in women taking up the sport is in part due to great role models, Ellis said, giving the examples of Brown and 14-year-old Bombette Martin. “They are both young and amazing and in the public eye,” he said, adding that more girls are going to skateparks, with a rise in groups such as Girl Skate UK being set up to accommodate female skaters.

British Council complies with data protection law in the UK and laws in other countries that meet internationally accepted standards. Brixton has always had pulsating nightlife, but since the 90s has come through as one of London’s best places to go out.Barrio is also one of the best places to go for bottomless brunch in Brixton, which always improves a bar in my books.

Throughout the summer Surrey play their first-class county matches and limited overs (shorter) matches at the Oval. Londonmight not have Cuba's fleets of classic carsor choice of cool Panama hats, but this summer, Brixton is trying to bring a little Havana life to SW9 with its rooftopurban beach. The Piña Coladas, Cubanitos and Mojitos will be flowing in a space decorated with mint and exotic flowers. For grub, there'll be arotating choice of street food vendors, with mac 'n' cheese bites from Mac to the Future and dishes from Mama’s Jerk and Negril. Suffused with the sights, sounds and scents of Brixton Market, Electric Avenue is a street with a lot to say for itself.

Where South Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill all meet is a graceful Victorian park that has held onto its 19th-century layout. Later the mill was revived with steam and ten gas engines, and Ashby’s Mill supplied wholemeal flour to many of the top West End hotels and restaurants. Their motto is “take a wrong turn to the right place”, and it has the vibe of a secret garden that’s easy to get lost in. One of London’s premier live music venues, the 4,921-capacity Brixton Academy has booked an unbelievable roll-call of music talent since it opened in 1983. Previously this building had been the Astoria Cinema, completed in 1929. Although the lower seating was removed when the cinema was converted in the 70s, a lot of the original neo-Renaissance details remain, like a proscenium arch, false loggia, balustrade and Corinthian columns. Bone China and Brixton Beach explore the tensions within Sri Lankan society that would lead up to the outbreak of violence and would force thousands into exile, tearing apart families both emotionally and geographically. Both novels combine a focus on the characters’ struggle for survival in a hostile homeland with a narrative of immigration and exile into a foreign country, the United Kingdom. The De Silva family in Bone China and the mixed-race Fonseka family in Brixton Beach have to integrate in a new society, which, especially for their eldest members, is far from their idealized expectations. As Savitha puts it to her husband Thorton in Bone China, 'We are nobody'. Caught between the old ways of their Sri Lankan heritage and the overwhelmingly liberated modernity of London, the De Silvas and the Fonsekas experience a sense of loss and non-belonging that undermines the stability and unity of their families. The younger characters, Anna-Meeka in Bone China and Alice in Brixton Beach, fare better although they too experience the grayness of London and the loss of their most cherished relatives such as grandfather Bee for Alice. With Brixton Beach,Tearne also started to develop an interest in portraying the effects of apparently remote conflicts on British society and in framing her characters’ lives within the context of a bigger global conflict. The novel opens with the London bombings of July 2005 whose events intersect with Alice’s story and with the surgeon Simon Swann’s attempts to find her. The Swimmer further develops Tearne’s observation of contemporary British society and of the interplay between world conflicts, immigration and the racist agenda of the far right. As in her first novel, the relationship between the two central characters, the 43-year-old English Ria Robinson and the 25-year-old Sri Lankan asylum seeker Ben, is threatened not only by their age gap, but also by social conventions and racial prejudice.