Bloody Sydenham Hill

[malumbu]

I loved the Woodhouse.  It's been awful for years.  I cycle up Sydenham Hill to go to Sydenham or Crystal Palace. 

[Sue]

2 hours ago, jazzer said:

I'm lucky if I can afford fish & chips take away, let alone the prices in the Wood House.  

We weren't eating there, just having a pint after a walk in the woods.

Can't remember the price of a pint or what we've had, but I've never liked Young's beer.

Apart from the Winter Warmer (unless I've misremembered and that isn't Young's).

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

I'm surprised there's such hate for the Wood House. I don't particularly like the interior decor but it's good a big garden with a bunch of covered and uncovered seating.

I'm not surprised the culture warriors have showed up with their usual "facts".

[malumbu]

It was such a lovely pub.  I drank and occasionally ate there for many years.  It had a locals feeling about it.  It had the most grumpy couple who managed it, and an outrageous gothed up person behind the bar.  Then it went through several makeovers and it was never the same again.

Bums on seats.  The plastic grass, little cabins, relatively expensive alcohol, ubiquitous menu, all brings the punters in.  Pub business has changed.   The brewery who ran their pubs so well has long since gone.  They don't need my business and my sense of nostalgia to survive.

[Sephiroth]

"I'm not surprised the culture warriors have showed up with their usual "facts"." what does this even mean?

[Sue]

2 hours ago, Dogkennelhillbilly said:

I'm surprised there's such hate for the Wood House. I don't particularly like the interior decor but it's good a big garden with a bunch of covered and uncovered seating.

I'm not surprised the culture warriors have showed up with their usual "facts".

What is a "culture warrior"?

What "facts" are you referring to, and why the inverted commas?

Yes, the "garden" is big (I can use inverted commas too!) Yes, it has seats. 

Are you a fan of AstroTurf and artificial plants? How would you define a "garden"?

[Cyclemonkey]

I dunno. "Facts " like you can get to Crystal Palace and Sydenham Woods via Sydenham Hill?

[David Peckham]

5 hours ago, malumbu said:

It had the most grumpy couple who managed it

Did Young's have a policy of only letting unpleasant couples be licencees?

I remember the couple who ran the Clock House. Their son was an arse, as well.

New Year's Day, probably 1998/99. Absolutely freezing. Lovely walk through Peckham Rye Park, fancied a pint. They wouldn't let us sit inside with a two year old. We had to sit out in the sleet. Tiny, cold hands. Massive, hot chips. A fortnight of toddler chilblains.

I think the landlord was ex Met, if I recall correctly.

 

[Sue]

17 hours ago, David Peckham said:

Did Young's have a policy of only letting unpleasant couples be licencees?

I remember the couple who ran the Clock House. Their son was an arse, as well.

New Year's Day, probably 1998/99. Absolutely freezing. Lovely walk through Peckham Rye Park, fancied a pint. They wouldn't let us sit inside with a two year old. We had to sit out in the sleet. Tiny, cold hands. Massive, hot chips. A fortnight of toddler chilblains.

I think the landlord was ex Met, if I recall correctly.

 

But if they had a no under 18s policy, that was fair enough, surely?

You can't have a rule then start making exceptions? Even if it's below zero outside?

I imagine that was before the pubs round here became child friendly, after which  you couldn't have a quiet pint without hordes of screaming kids rushing around you.

Edited 4 hours ago by Sue
Misunderstanding

[malumbu]

8 hours ago, David Peckham said:

Did Young's have a policy of only letting unpleasant couples be licencees?

I remember the couple who ran the Clock House. Their son was an arse, as well.

New Year's Day, probably 1998/99. Absolutely freezing. Lovely walk through Peckham Rye Park, fancied a pint. They wouldn't let us sit inside with a two year old. We had to sit out in the sleet. Tiny, cold hands. Massive, hot chips. A fortnight of toddler chilblains.

I think the landlord was ex Met, if I recall correctly.

 

I met them when they ran the Morpeth near Tate Britain, before they retired, and they moaned about running the Woodhouse.  I don't recall them being grumpy when at the Woodhouse (apart from their mixed attitude to families), just not particularly helpful*.  They'd get many more punters in on a lovely hot day but put no extra staff on, I could say more but I'd be getting too personal.  Did love the place irrespective of them.  I used to love the Clock in the old days, and the Buck in Petty France and the  Royal Oak near Strutton Ground and the Morpeth.  Common denominator is that they are all very different to when the Brewery was running and they were part of the Youngs estate.

 

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

16 hours ago, Sephiroth said:

"I'm not surprised the culture warriors have showed up with their usual "facts"." what does this even mean?

It means people are pursuing culture wars by making stuff up based on their passionately held prejudices and acting as if it's a fact. See the OP and this as examples:

https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/365902-bloody-sydenham-hill/#findComment-1717782

[first mate]

But a number of posters have said that in their experience they hardly ever see a cyclist on that route. There does not seem to be any data on cycle usage. Stand to be corrected if you have it?

[Sue]

Post deleted due to a misunderstanding. DUH.

1 hour ago, first mate said:

But a number of posters have said that in their experience they hardly ever see a cyclist on that route. There does not seem to be any data on cycle usage. Stand to be corrected if you have it?

Indeed.

No evidence has been produced on either side.

I sometimes drive up Sydenham Hill when there is no traffic in either direction. I don't take that to mean that no vehicles ever use it, apart from me,  and so there shouldn't be a road there at all!

I often don't see pedestrians, either. So according to some people's logic, there shouldn't be a pavement.

In any case, I'm not sure the actual numbers matter. Forgive me if I'm wrong, as I haven't been following the discussion closely, but wasn't the cycle lane supposed to be for safety reasons?

Edited 4 hours ago by Sue

[David Peckham]

12 hours ago, Sue said:

But if they had a no under 18s policy, that was fair enough, surely?

The thing is, Sue, we'd ordered from the kids' menu, so we thought it was okay to have kids in there. He also wouldn't give me a spoon to finish the beans because we hadn't ordered a sweet.

Decent quiz on Sunday nights, though.

 

9 hours ago, malumbu said:

 I used to love the Clock in the old days, and the Buck in Petty France and the  Royal Oak near Strutton Ground and the Morpeth

 

I wonder if you can help me here. There's a really good pub around there, the name of which I've been trying to remember for ages. It's down a ginnel, quite difficult to find if you don't know where it is.

I realise that's not a lot to go on, but it's been driving me mad for years. I can't even remember whether it was closer to Channel 4 or the old Central Office of Information.

[malumbu]

Had to Google ginnel and forgot where COI was.  It's the Windsor Castle formerly known as the Cardinal.  Like Many Sam Smiths pubs a wonderful grand Victorian place.  I won't comment on the beer and post COVID prices rose to catch up with the going rate.  As a spoof thread it has turned into something useful.  I was sad when the Paviours went, an Art Deco New York interior/Savoy Hotel that should have been listened and the Old Rose, turned into new offices/flats.  The Laughing Halibut remains but the Grafton has shed all its Goons' memorabilia.  Still like the Speaker even post Dennis the ebullient former manager.  

[Sue]

1 hour ago, David Peckham said:

The thing is, Sue, we'd ordered from the kids' menu, so we thought it was okay to have kids in there. He also wouldn't give me a spoon to finish the beans because we hadn't ordered a sweet

Ah, OK.

He sounds like a right bastard, then. 

[David Peckham]

Thanks for that. I think it's the one, but I don't remember it being a Sam Smith's house. Maybe it was The Cardinal when I went.

It does warrant another thread though. Something like 'How the f*** did you find this place? Hard to find London pubs.'

In fact, I'm going to start one, if I can work out how.

1 hour ago, malumbu said:

Had to Google ginnel and forgot where COI was.  It's the Windsor Castle formerly known as the Cardinal.  Like Many Sam Smiths pubs a wonderful grand Victorian place.  I won't comment on the beer and post COVID prices rose to catch up with the going rate.  As a spoof thread it has turned into something useful.  I was sad when the Paviours went, an Art Deco New York interior/Savoy Hotel that should have been listened and the Old Rose, turned into new offices/flats.  The Laughing Halibut remains but the Grafton has shed all its Goons' memorabilia.  Still like the Speaker even post Dennis the ebullient former manager.  

 

[Chick]

23 hours ago, Cyclemonkey said:

I dunno. "Facts " like you can get to Crystal Palace and Sydenham Woods via Sydenham Hill?

The keys at the Clockhouse were truly awful. Miles the son was an  obnoxious arsehole. the other son was a photographer who wne to war zones and was very pleasent unlikr the rest of the family. Glad they went.