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Croydon - nightlife, accommodation, things to do and general chat

Guineveretoo said:
When I first moved here, I had no idea how many green spaces there are in Croydon. In fact, I only discovered how extensive these are after lockdown take 1.

We have three lakes in North Croydon, ffs (none of them natural - one a former reservoir feeding the Croydon canal, one a former sewage works, and one a former brick pit), and several ponds, as well as woods galore, and lots of parks.

The centre of Croydon is the pits, and the Council is shit, but Croydon certainly has its pluses.
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Same here. I had obviously been across lloyd park and up to shirley hills and coombe wood, but until lockdown I never really got really into looking on maps and exploring. Might have had more to do with being out of work than going stir crazy. The green spaces are quite varied when you look beyond the parks. Many are not even green on maps, and you wouldn't know they were there if you didn't live right next to them. That's probably what I should make videos about rather than just running in circles.
 
Miller's Pond is nice

www.goparks.london

Millers Pond, Croydon

Millers Pond is a 4 acre park which was originally part of Spring Park Farm and was acquired by Croydon Council in 1934. It was named after the last family to work the farm. The pond was the largest of three ponds. The park is surrounded by residential houses and the main entrance to it is in...
www.goparks.london www.goparks.london
 
D'wards said:
Miller's Pond is nice

www.goparks.london

Millers Pond, Croydon

Millers Pond is a 4 acre park which was originally part of Spring Park Farm and was acquired by Croydon Council in 1934. It was named after the last family to work the farm. The pond was the largest of three ponds. The park is surrounded by residential houses and the main entrance to it is in...
www.goparks.london www.goparks.london
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I should check out all those bits of green out. Spring park wood, temple ave copse etc (most don't seem to have a name). I only started venturing out that way and into spring park wood towards the end of lockdown. I injured myself back in November so it's been hard work attempting runs longer than 15km so if I go up that way I usually head up Shirley church road and head straight home.
 
hash tag said:
There used to be a pond in Ashburton Park and at Thornton Heath. I gather they have both gone now
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Yes, those two have both gone, but there are still lots around. I came across a scientificy study of all the water in Croydon last year - it was a table about the quality of the water and what wildlife there was there. I wonder if I can find it again...
 
ATOMIC SUPLEX said:
I should check out all those bits of green out. Spring park wood, temple ave copse etc (most don't seem to have a name). I only started venturing out that way and into spring park wood towards the end of lockdown. I injured myself back in November so it's been hard work attempting runs longer than 15km so if I go up that way I usually head up Shirley church road and head straight home.
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If you haven't already, check out Whitehorse Meadow. It is one of the green spaces I only discovered during lockdown. It is on google maps, but not green.

it has got a little pond, as well.

I am fascinated by these green spaces that have been rescued by locals at some point and then adopted by the Council although they are all now falling into neglect because we have got a shit Council, so they are being rescued by locals again.

But anyway... Whitehorse Meadow includes some bits that used to be allotments, so all kinds of odd things grow there, and it is lovely.
 
Guineveretoo said:
If you haven't already, check out Whitehorse Meadow. It is one of the green spaces I only discovered during lockdown. It is on google maps, but not green.

it has got a little pond, as well.

I am fascinated by these green spaces that have been rescued by locals at some point and then adopted by the Council although they are all now falling into neglect because we have got a shit Council, so they are being rescued by locals again.

But anyway... Whitehorse Meadow includes some bits that used to be allotments, so all kinds of odd things grow there, and it is lovely.
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I 'think' I have been there, maybe I just went to the thing next to it. I'll check it out.
I only recently came across heavers meadow, I had no idea that these little pockets of wildlife existed. I suppose eventually everything will be destroyed. I grew up by a field in Cumbria that is now the middle of a small town, and as a teen in the westcountry I used to walk my dog across several fields . . . Now solid housing estates connected to the next village/town.
 
Am guessing you know Brickfields meadow already? It's a nice spot with a pond quite near to where Guineveretoo lives. I discovered it when looking for a quiet route to cycle to Selhurst Park. It has lots of roads named after athletes on one side too.
 
Maggot said:
Am guessing you know Brickfields meadow already? It's a nice spot with a pond quite near to where Guineveretoo lives. I discovered it when looking for a quiet route to cycle to Selhurst Park. It has lots of roads named after athletes on one side too.
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Yes, but only very recently discovered. Mental considering the amount of time I spent in that area. Gets a bit overlooked due to being close to other far bigger parks. I was a regular in South Norwood Country Park for years but now tend to head south as I'm not dropping my daughter off at Davidson School anymore.
 
A bit further afield I know but a huge revelation to me was Dulwich Woods up by the Dulwich Wood House. A great place to explore.
 
Maggot said:
Am guessing you know Brickfields meadow already? It's a nice spot with a pond quite near to where Guineveretoo lives. I discovered it when looking for a quiet route to cycle to Selhurst Park. It has lots of roads named after athletes on one side too.
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It’s one of the “lakes” I was referring to earlier. It’s a bit big to be a pond…
 
GarveyLives said:
This is very disturbing and distressing news for those who were involved in, or impacted by, this incident:

Driver of crashed tram ‘too unwell’ to give evidence at inquest

It is not even clear whether or not the individual concerned is still driving trams.
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Nearly five and a half years later, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is prosecuting Transport for London, Tram Operations Limited and tram driver Alfred Dorris following a detailed and thorough investigation into the fatal Sandilands tram derailment in November 2016:

The Office of Rail and Road launches prosecution over Sandilands tram crash
 
GarveyLives said:
Almost exactly a week ago, the police were called at 9.18 p.m. on Sunday 15 December 2019 to Drake Road in Croydon to reports of an injured man. The officers who attended and found local man, 33-year-old Albert Amofa, with a stab wound to his leg.

He was taken by the London Ambulance Service to a west London hospital where he died on Tuesday 17 December 2019.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Norman, from the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime Command, has indicated that they are keeping an open mind as to the motive but it that appears Mr Amofa was simply returning home to be with his family and may have been robbed during an attempt to rob him near his own home.

meuc3jjjefjj1w4rxi7s.jpg


The Late Albert Amofa

Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room on 020 8721 4005 or via Twitter @MetCC, quoting Cad 7166/15Dec. To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.​
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Dad 'brutally murdered by hooded killers’ after he refused to hand over Mercedes keys in 'plan to abduct him'
 
D'wards said:
Quite damning report on the city centre. Open crack smoking in the underpass from jury's Inn to the whitgift
www.mylondon.news

Croydon town centre's slow demise from drug taking to 'a shop closing each week'

Fed-up traders fear it 'won't be long' until the neglected Whitgift Centre has 'no customers at all'
www.mylondon.news www.mylondon.news
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I just don't know what can be done.
When I first moved to Croydon about 17 years ago I thought it showed promise, like it was going somewhere. . . . . little did I know that was it's zenith.
Beanos, a giant Forbidden Planet, HMV, uniclo, most of the whitgift was full. It looked like more was coming to the upper levels of the centrale, it even had all six upper food hall units filled. It was actually fun to just wander around on a Saturday.
But instead of getting better, it just got steadily worse. It's crazy how bad it's gotten. I don't know what can save it now.
 
ATOMIC SUPLEX said:
I just don't know what can be done.
When I first moved to Croydon about 17 years ago I thought it showed promise, like it was going somewhere. . . . . little did I know that was it's zenith.
Beanos, a giant Forbidden Planet, HMV, uniclo, most of the whitgift was full. It looked like more was coming to the upper levels of the centrale, it even had all six upper food hall units filled. It was actually fun to just wander around on a Saturday.
But instead of getting better, it just got steadily worse. It's crazy how bad it's gotten. I don't know what can save it now.
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When I think about the units that I visit when in Croydon it's pretty much the charity shops (esp. the excellent Crisis shop), the 'ethnic' food stores of London Rd, Marks & Waitrose for tramp's buffet cruising (though Waitrose is totally shite for that now), that disappointing vinyl store under Centrale and quick look in Blacks chuck-out hat bin. Other than that, there's nothing there to draw me in. I used to like a nice sit down in the dull Waterstones, but the cunts have taken all the seats away now...presumably to stop the homeless. On which note...the Wellesley road underpass is getting a bit scary for me now as I'm not very good with large, loose dogs.

The whole CBD is very neoliberal now; capitalism has eaten itself.
 
brogdale said:
When I think about the units that I visit when in Croydon it's pretty much the charity shops (esp. the excellent Crisis shop), the 'ethnic' food stores of London Rd, Marks & Waitrose for tramp's buffet cruising (though Waitrose is totally shite for that now), that disappointing vinyl store under Centrale and quick look in Blacks chuck-out hat bin. Other than that, there's nothing there to draw me in. I used to like a nice sit down in the dull Waterstones, but the cunts have taken all the seats away now...presumably to stop the homeless. On which note...the Wellesley road underpass is getting a bit scary for me now as I'm not very good with large, loose dogs.

The whole CBD is very neoliberal now; capitalism has eaten itself.
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Similar.
I do go to Crisis, but I don't rate it . . . probably because I only go for records and nothing is good for records anymore because all charity shops think a beaten up copy 'the best of bread' is somehow now worth £10.
101 records hasn't turned up anything good for me since the pandemic. It used to be the 'oh well one more shop while I am here' shop, but now it's probably a highlight now.
I go to Lidl, and waitrose (tramps buffet still pays out sometimes) and that is about it. Buy tights from Hewitts, my daughter likes to look at all the same old things in Forbidden Planet. I really think that's about it for the town centre. Such a shame. My daughter was born 15 years ago before it all collapsed, and I imagined her walking around with her friends, grabbing some food and casually checking out the shops.

I did buy something from the comic shop this morning, but I had to do it on-line and get it delivered as it wasn't actually as instock as it was advertised (seems like most of there stuff is actually a warehouse and the shop front is only a shop front).
 
ATOMIC SUPLEX said:
Similar.
I do go to Crisis, but I don't rate it . . . probably because I only go for records and nothing is good for records anymore because all charity shops think a beaten up copy 'the best of bread' is somehow now worth £10.
101 records hasn't turned up anything good for me since the pandemic. It used to be the 'oh well one more shop while I am here' shop, but now it's probably a highlight now.
I go to Lidl, and waitrose (tramps buffet still pays out sometimes) and that is about it. Buy tights from Hewitts, my daughter likes to look at all the same old things in Forbidden Planet. I really think that's about it for the town centre. Such a shame. My daughter was born 15 years ago before it all collapsed, and I imagined her walking around with her friends, grabbing some food and casually checking out the shops.

I did buy something from the comic shop this morning, but I had to do it on-line and get it delivered as it wasn't actually as instock as it was advertised (seems like most of there stuff is actually a warehouse and the shop front is only a shop front).
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Yep.
btw, I don't want to sound in any way uncharitable about the homeless living down in the Whitgift underpass, and I do know why the need/want big dogs, but I'm just a bit nervous of large dogs off the leash when walking through their territory. Put simply, last time I was a bit scared. It's just that having posted this picture of blustercunt smirking as he walked past the homeless in exactly the same location, I don't want to come across like the Sanderstead demographic. I've always tried to engage with the tent dwellers before, but now that the big dogs are there, I'll find another route. :(

1649154516553.png
 
It felt dodgy for a long time but it's proper freaky now. These days I rarely have any reason to pass through that way. I would definitely go out of my way to avoid it if I was with my wife or daughter.
 
The underpass near the NLA tower is another such location, but as the public largely don't go down there its even more blatant- the crack and heroin use that is
 
What's the NLA tower?
Is it that No1 Croydon building? During the pandemic my daughter and I went for a stroll around the underpasses there and were shocked to see a few people living there.
There has also been a guy under the bridge just before IKEA for quite some time. I think he might have been frightened away when they cut back all the hedges and other growth.
 
AverageJoe said:
Is Beanos still going? I could easily spend all day in that place.
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No. Went years ago. Sadly.
I was just lamenting this morning that I never bought a T-Shirt. I always used to think "who the bloody hell would buy a beanos t-shirt?".

The shop closed before vinyl sales began to pick up again. It might have survived if it could have just clung on for another couple of years. . . but it was really loosing money. The owner sold everything and put all his savings into an indoor market. He must have hated records by then because he was adamant that the market would NOT sell second hand music (though while the stalls were being built a couple of record sections sold off unsold beanos stock).
It was a MASSIVE flop, took ages to build but failed as a business in what seemed like only a couple of months.

It's since been a nursery, coffee shop and a nightclub, but I think it's empty now.
 
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