General Chat

Cheers Bella I prob went when it was Rizty that sounds vaguely familar!!! didn't go that oftne was a bit far, tended to end up in Kingston, in Cinders or options???????

hi Bryan et al Don't think the blue orchid can be the same one as the Fairfield Halls are quite a way from the good old Orchid. Perhaps they named it in remembrance! The Fairfield Halls......saw loads of fantastic bands there including The Beatles! Cheers Allie

shelli,the orchid,was way up on the brighton road,south croydon. if my memory is right (going back to the 80s) cinatras and watertown,were next to each other,and shared a revolving stage...there was also a trendy wine bar called the 'cartoon' but i really do try to avoid croydon these days,as i just can't stand all the 'manhatten' type buildings. ps...there was a great place at west croydon,called the 'beer keller' had live german music,and bands at weekend,and the lager was wicked. bryan.

I remember the Orchid ballroom - I went past it on the bus every day on the way to school. It had huge bright pink, orange and green posters advertising different evenings for various people - young and old. I also used to go past the Cats Whiskers when my husband and I used to drive down to my mum and dad, before the M25 was built. Never went to either of them, but did go to Fairfield Halls a lot - to see all sorts, Ken Russell's film of Mahler, Barclay James Harvest, Ralph McTell, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to name just a few. I also went to the Ashcroft Theatre next door a lot - saw Glenda Jackson, Richard 0'Sullivan, Miriam Karlin in various plays. nell

Bryan The cartoon was a bikers pub in my youth!!! and one to be avoided LOL Apart from a couple of trips to the watertown for hen nights not been nightclubbing in Croydon for yrs..... unless you include the one on Purley way near the gyspy moth(don't know the name keeps closing and reopening under different name).... went there about 5 yrs ago, and felt like a grand mother!!!!!!! wouldn't have minded but was only just over 30!!!!!!!!

Wow - reading through all this is like a walk down memory lane lol All my old stomping grounds :O))

BTW Bryan I avoid Croydon too. awful place... sorry to anyone who lives there LOL Only go over occassionally for the local studies centre, even then i usually try and go to Sutton instead!!!

Sorry to divert but does any one know if the Surrey Street Market is still going? There used to be a very well known second hand record shop down there called Beano's, people used to come from all over to browse around it's two floors.

Donna Just Googled Surrey Street Market - it would appear to still exist :O))

Anne...I haven't been to Croydon for about 15 years, I used to work right near Surrey Street Market ( British Telecom) My Hubby went there a year ago and said that the Whitgift Centre is unrecognisable and that they now have Trams running through the main road where Allders is......what was the name of that road?was it North Road?

We were amazed to find that Surrey St still exists almost as it was when I was little! Last year we stayed in the Holiday Inn Express which is right next to it. It was as if we had walked back in time! There is a lovely little row of old houses (Frith Road) right next to all those awful tall buildings. Reeves Corner etc all STILL there! Allie

market still in surrey street,great place for fruit and veg...and beanos still going,very pricey though,so i don't go in there. donna...it was called north end. bryan.

Bella Beanos is still going strong, have to avoid it as I spend a fortune in there. However it has been moved it's no longer on Surrey St, just slightly away from it now. Moved towards the high st, bit hard to spot it now if you don't the area. Have to disagree with Bryan you can still get a bargain in there!! Surrey St market is the longest market with royal charter or soemthing special, I remember reading somewhere!!! Kids normaly see market in full swing, so had total shock just befor xmas when the market had closed, and just the rubbish was left. Kids were amazed people could just leave their rubbish, took a lot of convincing that it was ok to do it here... suppose it shows I've done something right!!!!!!

Shelli I live next to Croydon, but never ever go there - I hate the place! Sutton is sooo much nicer, lol! Bev x

Oh Wow! The Cat's Whiskers! My favourite place on Saturday nights in the mid - late 70's. All came to an end when I met my husband there in 1977. All these years later and our daughter has followed in our footsteps, although as said previously, it's Caesar's Palace now. Also went to Cinatra's in Croydon, and seem to remember an outing or two to the Orchid, Purley. Another place we used to go was The Empire, Leicester Square, and Tiffany's in Piccadilly. Were they all Mecca Ballrooms? Dee x

Oh The Cats Whiskers! I loved it there. Used to go in the early 80's, oh what memories!

The club above the Ice Rink was called The Bali High, I also went to The Locarno Streatham.

I used to go to the Silver Blades and the bowling alley in Streatham in the 1960s. Went to the Locarno a few times, but I wasn't too keen on dance halls. I preferred going to clubs and discotheques in London, which were easier to reach. CB >|<

Shelli....Brian or anyone, do you know if The Gun Pub is still there. It used to be near Surrey Street Market? Spent many a lunch hour in there in the early 80's

Bella is the gun slighty down from Surrey st, towardds Reeves Corner? If so yes it's still there :-) Bev/Kev, You must be fairly near me if you are near to Croydon but visit Sutton.... I'm in Wallytown!!!!!