old haunts

I was in Croydon today to met up with Chris’s parents, Helen and Peter, for the first time. We had chosen a coffee shop 10 minutes’ walk from the station, called Crushed Bean which was perfect, with friendly staff and really nice coffee.

Afterwards, I went for a wander around Croydon. I spent most of my teenage years wandering around here, so it has many memories for me, most of them happy ones. I started off in Surrey Street, where there has been a market since 1276, and walked down Church Street to take a peek at my old school. Then into the old Parish Church (now called Croydon Minster). Back up into the town centre for a wander around the Whitgift Shopping Centre - in the 1970s this seemed so modern and exciting - Dad worked in a 20th floor office with a computer which filled an entire room, and from here we could see the Brave New World of concrete, flyovers and huge shiny tower blocks. 

<< I used to look everywhere for ghosts and signs from the past, but now I wonder if maybe my younger self haunts all these places. Maybe, sometimes, out of the corner of their eyes, people in Croydon see a small shy girl in a brown school uniform, wandering their streets >>

Lots of interesting people were born and brought up in Croydon, including David Lean, Roy Hodgson, Havelock Ellis, Stormzy and Peggy Ashcroft (the Ashcroft Theatre in my photo is named after her). The photo was taken outside Croydon College.

Tonight my brother visited and I cooked us all a risotto.