Bovine Juice

Penge is changing a lot. It has all the benefits a previous poster listed but is still relatively cheap compared to its neighbours. The transport options are terrific too. Two train stations (plus others that will take you to Charing X and Cannon St nearby), one of which is on the ginger line, plus loads of buses and the tram just round the corner plus it has CP Park on its doorstep. For more info join the Penge Tourist Board on Fb.

Only Friends of Flavours is good in Penge. Not sure if it opens lunchtime on Sundays and if it does it may be worth a pre-book. No idea about Beckenham but plenty of choice.

red devil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bovine Juice Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > You lot just haven't > > cared about us before. > > 3 posts and each one a reference to > Utd...obsessed...still, it's a 100% record, keep > up the good work! :) I only posted because I spotted a City reference from one of you glory seekers... We're your new obsession. Enjoy your Thursday nights on Channel 5.

red devil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Funny how City fans keep coming out of the > woodwork...glory seeking chums?...oh the irony! :) A Manc born blue to Manc parents and a fan since the 60s... hardly either just coming out of the wordwork or glory seeking. I was a regular during those 34 years of failure. You lot just haven't cared about us before.

Funny how United fans are attempting to paint our season as a failure (a trophy, top 3, 7-1 aggregate v Rags, fantastic football to watch, etc - I'll take that!). Poor quality camouflage from our glory seeking chums. If City aren't to win it... come on Liverpool. Anything but Mourinho and his nasty mind games and anti-football team.

titch juicy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And now it seems they're about to finish third in > a two horse race. The rest of world sport must be > having a rare old chuckle. The rest of the world is still chuckling that the Rags are struggling to make a Europa League spot this season... :)

Goldsmiths is just at the main crossroads of penge high st and Croydon road.

The sports pubs in Penge are the Goldsmiths and Pauleyne Arms. Both are apit n sawdust places. The Goldsmiths has multiple large screens and one real ale on (think it's Pride). It really is a sports bar, I can't imagine going in there for any reason than to watch sport as the screens take over the place. The Pauleyne also does one or two ales (think it was Brains and Courgae Best last time I was in). The screens are more discrete though. The Maple at the Anerley end of Maple Road may do sports as well but I'm not certain. In the days when I actually watched sports in pubs I used to hop on a bus to Beckenham but as I'm a City fan, the days when people were neutral about us, let alone pro-us, have long gone, so I find watching footy at home a preferable option.

Otta - I'm registered with a general practice up on Croydon Road and there are 3 or 4 doctors in there. I'm not sure I'd go as far as to recommend it but it's ok. Here's the link: http://www.trinitymc.co.uk/

The massive park, srisky, is Crystal Palace Park. Its name can't hide the fact that it's as much a feature of Penge as the place in Norwood named after a burnt down glass building (as I said earlier it was called Penge Common pre-CP building). There are plenty of other parks though including Betts, Alexandra and Cator, depending on which bit of Penge you live in. JulieW - you'll be round the corner from me and very very close to the fantastic Alexandra Nurseries and the soon to re-open Alexandra pub that we have high hopes for.

I agree with SE22mum to a degree, clearly compared to ED it's not got that carefree middle class frapuccino and vintage shop on every corner vibe. However like I said it's changing fast. 5 years ago it was a shabby kind of place but since then Blue Mountain, one gastropub (and two more on way), two specialist fishmongers, the brilliant Alexandra Nurseries, a micro brewery who do pop-ups, a retro shop... even a bloody cupcake place has turned up. It's definitely improving (though I could do without cupcakes)

You can check the Crime Stats on the Met Police site but in 17 years of travelling up town for work or socialising and returning late via train stations I've had no problems. I live 6 mins walk from Kent House, 8 mins walk from Penge East, 15 mins from Penge West and 10 mins from New Beckenham. I've used all stations but mainly Kent House (which is on the edge of Beckenham and very nice area) and they're all safe. I've also drunk in the Wetherspoons many many times and witnessed no trouble, though there are certainly plenty of lairy geezers effing and jeffing in there. There are certainly dodgy parts of Penge but no worse than most inner city areas and in all likelihood you'd not find yourself in those roads (they tend to be in or around various roads that have the name Grove and are tributaries of Maple Road). Ultimately if you want to buy a three bed Victorian house for a lot less than the price of a one bed flat in ED then it's all good. But be quick, the prices are rising. Zoopla thinks my house is now worth 16% more than 12 months ago and with the Crystal Palace being re-built and people finding Penge on the ginger line, it's going to get worse for buying.

The only one dedicated to Penge is a shockingly bad facebook page but Virtual Norwood and Crystal Palace Life both cover the area too. These pages/threads may be useful: http://crystalpalacelife.com/index.php/kunena/cp-general-chat/420-penge-breaking-news-and-current-affairs http://www.virtualnorwood.com/forum/forum/1-news-and-local-issues/

I live in Penge and have done so for 17 years. It's changed a lot in that time, most of it over the last few years and 90% of it for the better. The High Street is so-so but covers most of the essentials with Sainsburys, Lidl, Tescos, Superdrug, Boots, Homebase and Wilkinsons all there. There's not too many good indies but ones worth a mention are the Penge Food Centre (a brill Turkish supermarket), Murray Brothers Butchers, a good drapers, guitar shop and a couple of decent cafes just off the High Street on Maple Road (Bluebell Cafe and Blue Mountain). It's shocking for eateries, with only an Italian (Friends of Flavours) of any merit, though there is a great Spanish tapas place in Kent House nearby and loads of restaurants in Beckenham and CP. Pubs are so-so but one gastropub has opened (it also has a theatre and does comedy) and there's an above average Wetherspoons (11 ales on usually and loads of private booths). Things will improve though as there's also one more good pub opening in about 6 months (run by the Penge folk who run the Beer Rebellion in Gipsy Hill) and rumours that another will take over the Goldsmiths soon. The real gem is the Alexandra Nurseries - a small garden centre, cafe and vintage bric a brac place in the Alexandra Cottages conservation area. There are some lovely period houses down here and they cost significantly less than many other places. Schools are numerous and vary though the Alexandra Infants is outstanding and many others are good. Transport is superb. Penge East to Victoria takes 17 minutes. Penge West is on the ginger line Overground and can get you to Shoreditch in 28 mins. New Beckenham or Clock House can also be close depending on which bit of Penge you live in and will take you to London Bridge, Cannon Street or Charing Cross in about 22-28 mins. And trams from Beckenham Road will take you to Croydon in 20 mins. Plus loads and loads of buses including the 176 to ED. Parks: well there's lots of nice little ones but Crystal Palace Park (or Penge Common as it was before the huge glass building appeared) borders Penge High Street and is enormous. Basically, in summary, it appeared in that Standard Spotlight On feature for a reason: it's very very good value and improving very fast. I've seen so much for the better happen in the last five years and can't see any reason why it will not get even better.