THE relief was palpable.

It had been nine years since Palace last won an away game in the top division. It had been months since the club had won a game at all.

Frustration, sadness and impatience had taken hold as Steve Parish and Co did their due diligence before appointing a new manager – the fear that Palace had given up had set in.

But football is a crazy, organic representation of life as a whole. Just when you think things have reached their worst possible point and there is no hope of recovery, Crystal Palace find a way to re-inject some excitement and purpose to the proceedings. Forget relegation – the win at Hull City gave Palace hope and, as a club, we thrive on that stuff.

Keith Millen (pictured) is the man to be credited with setting the foundations of an unlikely recovery. Realising that the club's chances of staying up would rely on defensive solidity, his approach has been one of pragmatism and defiance.

As a Palace fan, Millen understands the importance of our status as a Premier League club; that he has been reassured about his role at the club by newly appointed manager Tony Pulis is news that Palace supporters can all rejoice in.

What Pulis will bring is a greater level of organisation, defensively and across the pitch. Players will be expected to play their roles with greater responsibility.

There will be a greater reliance on set-pieces, throw-ins and corners. There's a good chance that Pulis will approach the remainder of this season with the same attitude and directness that his Stoke side featured, albeit with a different set of tools – because Palace just don't have the same kind of squad that Stoke City had.

Pulis has also made it clear that he's not just at Palace to fight fires, but that he's relishing the challenge he's faced with. While the club had an opportunity to appoint a variety of managers following plenty of interviews, Pulis clearly impressed the most – not only does he bring organisation but he also brings a more comprehensive approach to managing the club.

His comments in the press conference showed that he'd done his research and understood the task at hand.

The remainder of this season will be about results like the one at Hull. Fighting against all odds, grabbing solitary goals but producing performances that fans can be proud of.

After all, that's the Palace way, isn't it?

HEARTLESS thieves targeting Croydon University Hospital (CUH) stooped as low as swiping 14 wheelchairs.

The single theft was among 93 separate reports of items going missing from staff, patients and visitors at the NHS trust between August 2012 and August 2013.

The wheelchairs were taken in April. There were other reports of stolen computers, televisions, cash and even someone's lunch.

The reports have sparked concerns that the hospital is powerless to do anything without spending valuable funds on security.

Mark Justice, chair of patient group Croydon Healthwatch, said: "CUH should not have to increase the levels of security, as this will remove further money from frontline services.

"Someone knows who did these thefts and they should be talking to the police."

The wheelchair thieves were spotted taking the 14 chairs, while they were being stored outside awaiting repair.

The computer thefts from CUH were investigated by police, along with those of the wheelchairs, but no arrests have been made.

Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said it is unlikely that the computers contained personal information of patients.

Mr Justice added: "I think the thefts are symptomatic of the way some members of the public think about the NHS – it is theirs and they can do what they like. We cannot allow it to continue."

At the hospital itself, prescription pads, a blood pressure machine and a painting went missing, while shortly before Christmas an Xbox console and TV were stolen from the Willows ward on consecutive days.

A spokesman for Croydon NHS Trust said: "Our estates and facilities team includes security staff who will investigate when personal property or equipment is reported as missing.

"If there is any evidence of theft, we will report this to police and if necessary look at ways we can improve security for patients and staff."

Cash and phones were the most common items reported as missing, accounting for 22 and 18 accounts of lost items at CUH in the year respectively.

In more bizarre circumstances, one report in July listed sandwiches as having been stolen from a loading bay at the hospital. Records do not indicate whether they were recovered or what filling they contained.

Drug cabinet keys were reported missing at the hospital in August of this year.

A search was launched but it was discovered a member of staff had accidently taken them away and returned them to the Q3 ward two hours later.

The trust insisted patient care was not impacted upon.

CROYDON University Hospital discharged a blind 90-year-old at night on the same day it was criticised for sending elderly patients home in the evening.

Last Thursday a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) raised "particular concern" about patients over the age of 65 being discharged after 6pm.

That evening pensioner Dorothy Robinson, who has dementia, was discharged at 7pm, despite being told she would stay overnight after a heart operation.

The 90-year-old was taken back to her sheltered accommodation in Arthur Court, Fairfield Path, without her carers' knowledge.

Hospital staff also failed to inform neighbour Patrick Bailey, her registered next-of-kin, who only discovered she was home the following morning.

Mr Bailey, 81, said the hospital had shown a "disregard" for his vulnerable friend's well-being.

He added: "Dorothy is 90 years old, blind, senile and can't look after herself – anything could have happened."

Ms Robinson, a former telephone operator, was admitted to hospital last Thursday morning for an operation to fit a new pacemaker.

Mr Bailey showed the Advertiser a letter from Croydon Health Services which told Ms Robinson: "Following the procedure you will stay in hospital overnight and therefore please bring an overnight bag."

As a result he told social services they did not need to perform their regular visits that evening or the following morning because she would not be there.

On Friday morning Mr Bailey, who has cared for his neighbour for the past ten years, let himself into her flat to turn the heating on, only to find her standing in the kitchen.

"They had brought her home in the night and I hadn't heard anything," he said. "Dorothy can't see and is very unsteady on her feet. There's a very small gap between her bed and her wardrobe which she always needs help with.

"She could have fallen and wouldn't have been able to reach the emergency cord.

"No-one would have known until I went there the next morning. I think it's terrible."

John Goulston, Chief Executive of Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, said it was working to improve the discharge of elderly patients in the evening.

IN THE fight to prevent Roke Primary becoming a Harris Academy, one of the first battles the parents lost was to preserve their uniform.

However, out of this most bitter of disputes has come a development everyone is pleased with.

This summer, parents received a letter telling them the school's leftover stock had been sent to the charity Harambee for Kenya, which looks after destitute children in the slums of Nakuru.

Debbie Shaw, a parent of two at Harris, read the letter and realised every parent could donate their children's uniform to the charity.

She said: "I asked everyone and put it all over Facebook. I had the most amazing response and eventually the boot of my car was stuffed full of 30 bags of uniform.

"I spoke to the charity and they took everything over in October. They started the school for parents who could not afford to buy their children school uniforms.

"The kids had bits and pieces before but now every single child, around 240, have the same Roke uniform.

"It's so lovely, we're all very emotional. It's like Roke lives on in Kenya."

Lesley Dann, who set up the charity with her husband Roger in 2007, said they looked after hundreds of street children in Kenya.

Many are orphaned by Aids or have only one parent who cannot care for them, and are forced into begging or scavenging on rubbish tips.

"It has made a huge difference," said Mrs Dann.

"The children struggle to have an identity and are treated so badly by people.

"Having the whole school in the same uniform is really important. When we went over there, they were absolutely overjoyed, it was really sweet. There is now a real sense of belonging."

Mrs Shaw said parents of the old Roke had been very emotional about the news the uniform had reached Kenya.

"A lot of them have said it has made them cry or brought a big lump to their throat," she said.

"We fought really hard for our kids' education last year, but it makes you think that these parents have had to fight for their children to go to school full stop.

"But there is this sense of solidarity, that we all fight our battles, but for different things.

"Morale has been a bit low this year and we're hoping things will settle down but this has been a real boost to the spirits."

To find out more about the work of Harambee for Kenya, visit harambeeforkenya.org

A DISABLED Crystal Palace fan of more than 30 years says he may stop going to games because his view has been restricted by television studios.

Paul Williamson, 43, who has cerebral palsy and uses a mobility scooter, has been going to Selhurst Park since 1980 with his father Peter.

But on attending the first game of the season against Tottenham Hotspurs, he arrived to find the view from his seat in the disabled section was severely obstructed by new TV studios installed for additional Premier League coverage.

The purpose-built section for disabled fans, seating about 20, has now been moved to the Arthur Wait stand.

But Mr Williamson said the new section is even worse, because when fans stand up at key moments he can no longer see any action on the pitch.

Mr Williamson, of South Croydon, said: "Palace is my enjoyment. I've seen them through the bad times and the good and I was looking forward to this season after getting promoted.

"I love going because it is my entertainment.

"I've been so disheartened the last few games that I said to my dad the other day 'I don't want to go any more'."

After the Tottenham game, Mr Williamson and other disabled supporters were given tickets in executive boxes.

Mr Williamson added: "That was a nice goodwill gesture, but I don't understand why they didn't consult us over the move to the Arthur.

"If we had tried it out or tested it, we would have known straight away that it was not going to work."

The diehard Eagle said he has sent letters to chairman Steve Parish, stadium manager Kevin Corner and disabled fans co-ordinator Pam Groves.

He only received a response this week from Ms Groves, and said he was disappointed by how the matter has been handled.

Mr Williamson added: "It's not acceptable really. I went to Wembley for the play-off final and everything was fantastic.

"I know Selhurst isn't quite on that level, but as a Premier League club I don't see why they can't sort this out.

"I live off disability benefits and I pay good money for my ticket and this has really upset me."

A spokesman for the club said it was investigating the complaint but no others had been received.

CHRISTMAS is a time of joy, celebration, family and mince pies.

For millions of children it is as much about the giddy excitement as they wait to see what Santa has bought them.

But for youngsters in hospital and their families it can be a time of anxiety and heartache as they miss out on the kind of Christmas most of us take for granted.

That's why the Advertiser is asking readers to dig deep and give generously to our Toys for Joy appeal – to help make these children's lives slightly more bearable this festive season.

Esmanur Parmak is one of those children.

She is just six- years-old and a bright, cheeky little girl, who is a pupil in Year 1 at Elmwood Infants School.

But Esmanur has spent every Friday at Croydon University Hospital since she was just two- months-old to receive care for a bowel condition which means she is not able to absorb protein.

She will have the condition for the rest of her life.

On the day the Advertiser visits her, it is Esmanur's sixth birthday and she is in the hospital's Dolphin ward for her weekly four hour transfusion.

Stephanie Belch, a staff nurse who has known Esmanur since she first came to the hospital, said: "She's a really good girl and she is very good even when we have to carry out some painful procedures, but it is hard for her and she does need constant care and attention.

"Her mother is amazing and she has to be up with her every two hours throughout the night."

Her Turkish mother, Esin Parmak, 25, said she has forged a brilliant relationship with the nurses in the unit and is very grateful for their help.

"Me and Esmanur could not speak English when we first came here and Esmanur used to talk to the nurses in Turkish," she said.

"When I come here, the nurses are so good I can have a break and read my magazines because I don't get much time otherwise."

As it is her birthday, the nurses have bought Esmanur presents, including a doctor's kit and books about her favourite thing in the whole world – Peppa Pig.

It is these sorts of toys that we are asking Advertiser readers to donate.

Esin added: "It is a very nice idea for an appeal. Kids can be at the hospital for a long time. We were in the Rupert Bear ward last year and the hospital brought in presents that Esmanur loved.

"It is a big help."

And what does Esmanur want for Christmas this year?

"Peppa Pig! Peppa Pig! Peppa Pig!"

A RAPPER from Addiscombe says X Factor winner James Arthur is "ridiculously stupid" after he aimed racist and homophobic slurs at him online.

Micky Worthless made national news after he became embroiled in a war of words with Arthur last week. The 30-year-old, who posted a track on Twitter "dissing" Arthur first, was on the receiving end of an ill-conceived response from last year's winner of the ITV show.

Arthur, who is on a multimillion- pound recording deal, called him – in one line alone – a "f***ing queer" and a member of the Taliban.

Micky, whose real name is Michael Brennan, said: "He got on a Radio One show that breaks a lot of new rap artists and a lot of rappers started complaining about it.

"He saw my tweet about it and started replying to me because he had seen a battle I'd had against a guy called Lunacy where I wasn't very good.

"That was an off day but he said I was the worst rapper ever and 'I will hand you your a**e'. I said fine, let's have a battle, but then he got nervous and deleted those tweets.

"So I ended up going into my studio at 2am and recording this track. I did it in one take and had it finished by 7am."

The resulting rap, full of explicit barbs, has since been viewed more than 150,000 times but Arthur's response caused uproar, with celebrities including Little Britain's Matt Lucas and Beverley Callard – Liz McDonald in Coronation Street – taking to Twitter to castigate him.

Micky, who admits battle rap is not a family pursuit, said the Middlesbrough pop star's response baffled him.

He added: "I don't really mind on a personal level because you get all sorts of things chucked at you in battle rap. But this guy is a pop star with a massive career. Why would he be so ridiculously stupid? He had just switched on the Oxford Street Christmas lights and was about to appear on Children in Need. It's ridiculous.

"I knew him a bit before this happened because my friend told me to watch his video because she thought he was really good on X Factor.

"I sort of expected it [the rap] to be bad but after I watched it he was even worse than I thought he would be."

And Micky, a former Harris City Academy Crystal Palace student, has picked up some famous fans since the furore, including a One Direction star.

He said: "Louis Tomlinson retweeted my track because he's had some problems with James Arthur in the press.

"It's nice to know One Direction have got my back but, you know what, I haven't really got a problem with James Arthur. He said he earns 20 grand in 20 minutes in the track. I earn 20 grand a year if I'm lucky.

"If I met him I'd let him buy me a beer with all that money."

Arthur has since 'retired' from Twitter, as a result of this and other well-publicised spats in recent weeks.

ON TUESDAY, shortly after 9pm, Juliet Mitchell lit a candle in memory of her nephew Ricardo Cox.

Exactly five years before, the 20-year-old was walking home from a KFC in West Croydon when he was mistaken for a gang member and murdered in a drive-by shooting.

"It feels like yesterday," said Ms Mitchell, who has now been told by police the hunt for Ricardo's killers has been "closed".

"I remember my sister came to my door and told me that Ricky was dead.

"I will never forget the look on her face. I thought: 'Why Ricky? He was a good boy. He didn't deserve this."

Ricardo was with his brother Oneil when a stolen car pulled up to them at the junction of Mitcham and Derby roads on November 26, 2008.

A man leaned out and asked whether they "knew the Byrd gang" and then shot Ricardo in the stomach.

The occupants of the car have not been caught despite police offering a £20,000 reward.

That has now expired, and while the detective leading the case this week reiterated his appeal for witnesses, Ms Mitchell, of Windsor Road, Thornton Heath, has been told the search has been shelved.

"They phoned me and said the case has been closed," she said.

"I was told they know who did it, but they don't have enough evidence to prosecute them.

"I feel hopeless, but I'll never give up.

"Next year or maybe five years down the road, someone will talk and I know the police will be ready."

Ricardo had no link to gangs. In fact he supported anti-gun crime campaigns.

The popular former Croydon College and Coulsdon College student was on a gap year when he was shot. He had applied to study information technology at university.

"It was his dream to go and I saved all my money to send him there," said Ms Mitchell.

"I had to use that money to bury him. I keep thinking about that."

An inquest into Ricardo's death was due to be held yesterday.

But Ms Mitchell accepts it will tell her nothing she does not already know.

AN AUTHOR has written a book about post-war British architecture as part of his mission to understand why Croydon looks the way it does.

John Grindrod, 43, has penned his first book – Concretopia: A Journey Around The Rebuilding Of Post-War Britain.

John, who used to live in New Addington, said he delved into the subject when he realised he could not explain Croydon to people who had never been there.

He said: "I realised I didn't know how they had come to look like they had. With New Addington, it sort of feels urban but then it's surrounded by trees and green spaces so it doesn't.

"It was the same with Croydon really. People who pass through it on the train think it's just the town centre but it's surrounded by areas with lovely Victorian buildings.

"I've spent a lot of my life trying to understand it a bit better.

"For the book I went round the country to new towns like Milton Keynes and high-rise blocks of flats in places like Newcastle to try and make sense of the rebuilt Britain."

The former Addington High student, who works in publishing, said writing the book had improved his relationship with the area.

John, who now lives in Forest Hill, added: "When I was at school at Addington High, a geography teacher showed us a video about bad town planning and it was about New Addington.

"I realised when I got older that it probably was quite badly planned and it's a bit sad really that the council has never seemed to care about the area at all."

Concretopia tries to explain how Britain emerged from the austerity of the post-war period to look like a space-age world of concrete, steel and glass.

And John believes the stereotyping of Croydon as 'ugly' is largely unfair.

He said: "After writing the book, I've realised that there are quite a number of crap buildings in Croydon, but there are also some really amazing ones.

"People lazily say it is full of rubbish post-war buildings but that isn't fair, there are some great buildings like the NLA tower which I used to think was quite cool but now I think is amazing."

EXORCISM requests, a spliff-shaped floral tribute, and a loving, open, laughing community that has "made me the priest I am."

It is these things Father Martin Powell says will stick with him about New Addington, as he moves on to a new role.

The 42-year-old will give his final sermon as vicar at St Edward's Church on Sunday, December 15, before taking up a new priesthood in Chichester.

Reflecting on a decade leading a parish of some 20,000 people, he said: "So many memories...so many fantastic weddings.

"Some beautiful ones and also some were outrageous – shocking pink dresses, that sort of thing.

"I had a floral tribute on a coffin that was in the shape of a four-foot long (marijuana) spliff, so these kind of things will stick with me.

"But actually one of the things that will stick with me the most is the sense of fun that people have here.

"When you come together and have a laugh you really do have a laugh.

"People are open to enjoying each other's company and I shall take that away with me."

Father Powell was just out of the curacy when he started at St Edward's and says he has come into his own as a priest in New Addington.

The dad-of-two said: "I have really learned all the ins and outs of the priesthood here.

"From dealing with people who want exorcisms (it normally ends up as sort of a house blessing) to people on their death beds.

"I am so grateful for people for what they have done for me in terms of my ministry. They have made me the priest I am, really.

"I try to be compassionate, hard-working, realistic and down to earth. Loving, hopefully funny, and just open and accessible."

The very modern minister – known for his blogging, texting and tweeting on spiritual and community matters – has worked to bring more young families into the fold and increase partnerships with other churches in the area.

He has also helped St Edward's buck a national trend for church attendance, with regular Sunday worshippers now numbering about 120 compared to roughly 90 when he started.

That is partly due to changing demographics in the neighbourhood, with people from so-called 'black minority ethnic' communities now making up about 40 per cent of his regular congregants, compared to about 22 per cent when he started.

He said: "I think that is true of New Addington as a whole and in particular true of churches.

"A lot who are new to the country come with a Christian background already so they go through the church.

"That has opened up all sorts of avenues for us in terms of celebrating our differences."

Father Powell's successor will be chosen after a six-month interregnum.

THE Chipstead residents behind the scrapping of the Coulsdon Masterplan have hailed a "significant victory" while the council says much of the work proposed in the document will still be "used as appropriate".

Richard Wagner, Peter Jarvis and Chipstead Residents' Association forced Croydon Council to axe the planning template for the town last week after threatening a judicial review.

The duo released a statement after the council said it had dropped the document following "a detailed review of the overall nature of the plan, the methodology used in drafting it and recent case law".

The pair said the plan's withdrawal "opens the way" for Chipstead and Coulsdon residents' associations to "unite to achieve a truly effective voice on these matters that affect all our residents."

They added: "Withdrawal by Croydon of the Masterplan that it had lauded so highly is a significant victory for those of us who realised all along that there were serious flaws in the ideas it set out for Coulsdon.

"Working together, we could expect Croydon not only to listen but be more willing to accommodate our legitimate concerns."

Chief among those is how roads will cope with the traffic from the planned 650-homes in Cane Hill and other big developments. They are particularly worried about the unsuitability of Portnalls Road, next to Chipstead, as a main access road onto Cane Hill.

Croydon Council said last week it would reassess traffic plans for Cane Hill including the possibility of another access – something council leader Mike Fisher also promised to look into, at a public meeting in October.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Mr Wagner revealed the withdrawal of the plan had come about fairly quickly after they wrote to the council following consultation with Clive Newberry QC and months of lodging objections.

He said: "We said to Croydon, we give you advice of our intention to go to court and fairly rapidly they said, 'oops'

"It all happened this month."

Mr Wagner added: "The Portnalls Road access came about 200 metres from Chipstead so it is not as though we are trying to interfere in some body else's area – what was proposed would have a very direct impact on us.

"And it was not just Chipstead Residents' Association – Surrey Council, Tandridge and Reigate and Banstead all objected as well."

He added that he would like Portnalls Road to be used only for emergency vehicles, not for general traffic.

A FORMER boxing world champion believes training like a fighter can help people overcome mental health issues.

Duke McKenzie, who owns a fitness centre in his name in Westow Street, Upper Norwood, was a world champion at three different weights before retiring in 1998.

The Croydon resident, 50, has been working with mental health charity Mind for seven years, and takes groups of people recovering from breakdowns or mental health problems for sessions in his gym.

He takes groups for ten-week blocks of training sessions, in which they follow a programme of boxing drills.

Duke said: "Boxing is a very unique sport and a very traditional way to train as a form of keeping fit, but also it helps your overall wellbeing.

"It is also definitely the case that your mental state is linked to your physical state.

"People come to my gym because are trying to reintegrate. They can't go to mainstream gyms because it would be too much for them. It can be intimidating, whereas our sessions are more friendly.

"I love the work I do with Mind – it's by far the most rewarding thing I've done since I stopped boxing."

Duke is currently coaching his nephew and former Crystal Palace footballer Leon McKenzie as he embarks on a professional boxing career.

But the sometime TV commentator said he has no real interest in coaching professional boxing.

He added: "I coach my nephew Leon because he is family but I have had offers that I have turned down.

"I was asked by a current world champion to get involved, but I turned it down because that's not really what I want to do."

In fact, Duke is now hoping to take his work with Mind to the next level.

"I am taking a counselling course in the new year and I want to do a psychology course after that," he said.

"People from Mind tell me I've got a real knack for this sort of thing.

"This is something I want to get more involved with and I'm doing these courses because I know where I want to be in five years' time.

"There are two people who were in my first-ever Mind group who now work with me on a part-time basis.

"You know, everybody's got a gift, everybody's got some sort of use, you just have to find it."

For more information on Mind go to www.mindincroydon.org.uk or call 020 8668 2210.