The Swan and Sugarloaf, South Croydon

Honestopinion man was right: this place is hellish, it really is. It is the end of the world. Like Honestopinion, I too went back three, maybe four times. The locals' hostility is open, raw, and very real. They have a big, incorrectly-spelt sign on the pavement advertising "akomodation", or similar. There seems to be a very real sense that, at any moment, you may be glassed, or worse. I can't fathom why places like this exist. If I was a landlord, I'd be thrilled to bits to have decent types like me coming through the door. Every day I ride my motorbike along the little road to the east of the pub. And every day, I must avoid the foul-mouthed sods who leave the Swan and Sugarloaf.
I can accept poor architecture, scruffy interiors, and inebriation. But I can't live with the contemptuous feelng which pervades this place. Entering the place can curiously be a positive experience. Because when you're hidden in it's Wild West, frosted-glass world, it makes you feel so hopeless. Come out of it - even if your life is rock bottom - and you will feel like a new person.

9 Oct 2007 15:56