Bad Reputation

I think it's fair to say that Croydon is renowned for a few things. Some shops, a tramlink, an Ikea and most impressively (and the line I hear possibly the most) a good roundabout. It could be just me but it would seem most of the people I meet are fairly underwhelmed by the whole Croydon experience.

I am not the type of person who feels the need to shout from the roof tops how great Croydon is, because let's face it; it's not. But I do feel that the reputation that it seems to have acquired is perhaps a little unwarranted.

I can only speak for myself and the people I know but despite all the stories I hear I am yet to come across a person who has been mugged, attacked, shot or raped on the way home. I am not saying these things don't happen, as I know they do. But they are not as much the everyday occurrence that some people seem to think

The reason why I mention this is just this weekend I found myself in the typical situation of having to defend my humble Croydon origins. I had been invited out for a friend's birthday in Clapham and not knowing many of the people who had been invited we had got on to the subject of where we lived. Having mentioned the C word (Croydon, that is) I received the usual reception (i.e. distaste, concern and possibly slight sympathy). But it was fine. I recited my usual 'It's not as bad as they say...' spiel and the night moved on.

We headed to a club and whilst on the dancefloor noticed two people who looked like they were coming to heads. Being of the inclination that I am (i.e. nosey) I moved closer so as to see exactly what was occurring. What happened next I cannot be sure but it seemed within the space of approximately four seconds a fight between two had turned into a fight between 20 and I suddenly felt a fist come flying in to my head at quite a speed. It was far from ideal and I fell to the floor in quite a dramatic fashion.

Despite my ambulance-warranting collapse I did escape the incident relatively unscathed. But it did get me thinking about the irony of it all. Perhaps Croydon isn't the best place in the world. But maybe it's not the worst either?