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

Saw a soundsystem gig advertised for
The Recreational, Fairfield Halls
..is the Recreational something different to the Halls? Whats it like?

eta; ive googled it :D
thanks anyway!
 
It's been 23 years since Kirsty MacColl's tragic death (18th Dec 2000). I thought I would use my morning run to check out where she grew up. Quite a fancy pants street actually and quite deep south, sandwiched right between two fantastic woods. Not quite the local Croydon record shop girl I imagined. . . . Unless she lived in that one derelict house.

 
There are some well worked walks on the London loop or capital ring. Unfortunately they are A to B as opposed to circular.
London Loop covering happy valley
 
There are some well worked walks on the London loop or capital ring. Unfortunately they are A to B as opposed to circular.
London Loop covering happy valley
I'm slowly building my running distance up from scratch after a knee and foot injury earlier in the year. I'm currently on 26km so will soon be able to run to, from and explore happy valley. I have not been there or farthing down wood.
I think one of the problems is that the journey directly there on foot from my house is 12km of very uninspiring road. . . When alternatively, in another direction I can be on the vanguard way in only five minutes.
 
As Leafster says, Happy Valley also gets my vote. From a misty walk we did there. There is lots of parking and close to where you wish to go. Yes it was foggy, but normally great views...some pics I've lostView attachment 405156View attachment 405158
I have had a lot of fun sledding down that hill. Problem is it slopes down sharply but also slopes to the left.

My parents go walking up there every morning.
 
Saw a soundsystem gig advertised for
The Recreational, Fairfield Halls
..is the Recreational something different to the Halls? Whats it like?

eta; ive googled it :D
thanks anyway!
Mad Professor/Ariwa? I saw that too :D not been to FF halls since it's refurb. Used to find the occasional interesting thing in but it's all been fairly dull for a long while (mmmm covers bands).

I have heard about some interesting stuff happening.... A new nightclub opening on the site Palm Beach Club (/Bad Apple) with a dance music focus and there's meant to be a techno night on at a football club near Arena for New Year 👍 Riff Raffs are still putting on monthly gigs for people to MC and play their own beats and other bits and bobs... They did a UK Hip Hop focussed night, and have done Hip Hop all dayers for DJs and MCs. Guest DJs welcome!

I've was ill for ages so not out much but heading over Xmas eve as their going to be open on the Sunday til 1am.need to do my bit to support the local night life !
 
thats great news...please post a link when it happens
croydon desperate;y needs music venues it seems to me...all of london does tbh
There is a chap called serkus (@gaz_serkus) jungle/dnb focussed DJ/producer on insta who is involved for updates in the new venue :) but will update here when I know more.
 
I'm slowly building my running distance up from scratch after a knee and foot injury earlier in the year. I'm currently on 26km so will soon be able to run to, from and explore happy valley. I have not been there or farthing down wood.
I think one of the problems is that the journey directly there on foot from my house is 12km of very uninspiring road. . . When alternatively, in another direction I can be on the vanguard way in only five minutes.
It's not exactly a direct route and it may be a little too far but you could possibly cross the golf courses off Featherbed Lane, towards Farleigh, then to Hamsey Green, cross Limpsfield Road and head to Riddledown Common, cross the A22 and head through Hawhurst Wood onto Kenley Common (and the airfield), cross over to Coulsdon Common and finally into Happy Valley.
 
It's not exactly a direct route and it may be a little too far but you could possibly cross the golf courses off Featherbed Lane, towards Farleigh, then to Hamsey Green, cross Limpsfield Road and head to Riddledown Common, cross the A22 and head through Hawhurst Wood onto Kenley Common (and the airfield), cross over to Coulsdon Common and finally into Happy Valley.
Yes there is a bridleway off featherbed Lane by the golf courses that I take quite a lot. . . The problem is the added distance and lack of a circular return that isn't basically down long main roads.
I shouldn't grumble though. Now and then I take a train to other parts / parks in London and it highlights how much better it is down here for parks and woodland.
 
It's dreadful. So heartbreaking. There was a young lad murdered at Sutton train station the other week, only 17 - stabbed to death at 7 in the evening :( My office is right next to the station and when I went out at lunchtime a few days ago I passed by the bank of memorial flowers, cards, messages. There were photos of him - a sweet faced teenager. Someone had left an Xbox controller in a zip lock bag as part of the tribute. That could have been my boy, one of his friends, a friend or colleague's son. There is no sense in so much loss of young life.
 
Banstead Woods is lovely. It's always busy with dog walkers, at any time of day, but never so much so that you notice iyswim. We go there a lot and the worst that's happened is we've had to wait 5mins for a parking space. Once you get into the woods it's spacious and beautiful.
Banstead was my destination. Managed to park without having to wait, and I had a nice walk over what I vaguely recall is the parkrun route. I’ve done it a few times, though run it since around 2010, but I remember enjoying it.

The Narnia stuff looked fun. I saw Aslan and a wardrobe but no witch.
 
Whilst I was using up a quarter of an hour before the film began at the David Lean cinema at Croydon Town Hall/library yesterday, I chanced upon this nice little exhibition about Croydon's hi-rise history titled "Mini Manhattan". Let me stress it's one of those tiny little local exhibitions that are totally worth visiting if you're there, but please don't travel from the benighted wastes of North of the Thames just on account of this.

Anyway, there's some background on some of the iconic blocks including, of course, the NLA Tower. I'm sure that anyone who's read John's Grindrod's works will be familiar with the story, but the exhibition does explain the story of Miss Harding and how she nearly stopped the development of the 'Thrupenny Bit' building:

Miss Kathleen Harding, a solicitor and the tenant of East Bridge House, 10 Addiscombe Road, hampered construction of the NLA Tower for several years. Out of respect for her late father, and with legal skills at her command, she resisted all offers from the developers to sell them the property, and it was feared that the entire construction project would have to be abandoned. Instead, plans for the NLA tower block had to be altered to accommodate her, with a new roundabout carefully carved out around her home. Miss Harding’s house remained standing in the shadow of the tower until it was finally demolished in 1973.

1706464169861.png

As the tower is today:

1706464311958.png

Little exhibition runs until February 23rd 2024.
 
Train strike tomorrow. Will the overgound be running from west croydon given that is is located inside the rail station not a tube station?
 
Train strike tomorrow. Will the overgound be running from west croydon given that is is located inside the rail station not a tube station?
I believe so. They usually just have a big sign up saying NO TRAINS or NO OVERGROUND or NO NOTHING EVER depending on which are running. East Croydon just goes on lock down when the trains aren't running as there no reason to have people on the platforms.
 
Train strike tomorrow. Will the overgound be running from west croydon given that is is located inside the rail station not a tube station?

This week's strike action is ASLEF (train drivers) and London Overground don't seem to be part of it.

So they should be running, but would imagine they would be somewhat busy.

If it's station / signalling / control room staff, Overground can get dragged in to national rail strikes because they share stations / tracks with other operators, but they employ their own drivers.
 
This week's strike action is ASLEF (train drivers) and London Overground don't seem to be part of it.

So they should be running, but would imagine they would be somewhat busy.

If it's station / signalling / control room staff, Overground can get dragged in to national rail strikes because they share stations / tracks with other operators, but they employ their own drivers.
Ah I see. Just the drivers. Phew.
. . . but yeah, I imagine I'm going to gave a fairly shitty journey today.
 
More good news for Greater Croydon; Sutton & Cheam's thick, shyster and con-man MP, Paul "No-go zone" Scully joins the growing band of vermin MPs who can't face the prospect of defeat.
 
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