Jo Irwin

After a spell of great weather, we Croydonites are usually on the lookout for more ways to spend some time outdoors without having to trek up to town. If you can’t squeeze on to the terrace at Boxpark Croydon, here are some alternatives to camping out in a pub garden when the weather gets good.  A post shared by Jo Irwin (@_theladylondon) on May 26, 2017 at 12:17pm PDT Yoga on the roof of Centrale Shopping Centre Don’t worry: this isn't about performing your best child’s pose in a parking bay. After last year’s success, Lost Format Society is back and has taken over the top of Centrale’s car park. It may not seem the obvious choice for catching some late afternoon sunning, but there’s a bar, a cinema and a pretty nice vibe. The music’s good, the sun lasts late into the evening and there’s the customary giant deck chair for all your Instagram needs.  To top that, on June 11 they’re starting up yoga sessions on Sundays, in the sun. Slightly more appealing than in the basement of a gym, eh? Bring your own picnic to Beddington Park  You could be forgiven for thinking that the sometimes overlooked Beddington Park is too picturesque for Croydon. The meandering River Wandle and chocolate box St Mary’s Church are perfect for pretending you’re a million miles away from the centre of town on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Better still, they’ve got public barbecue stands. So grab some mates, some sausages and some beers and have yourself a very wallet-friendly

If you grew up in London, you might wish to go back to a simpler time – before the London Eye, Oyster cards and the night tube. To be honest, all aspects of growing up in London were pretty epic, but here are some of the things you might miss the most.  Loitering outside the London Weekend Television building on the South Bank Social media wasn’t a thing so if you wanted to spot a celebrity, you’d have to physically stalk them. So you’d wait… and you’d wait. And if you were lucky, you’d spot one member of Destiny’s Child come out at the end of ‘CD:UK’. Michelle, probably. Flickr/ yisris   Being allowed to smoke on the top deck of a Routemaster bus   #DestinysChild #SayMyName #CDUK #Performanceoftheday 03-11-2017 A post shared by @foreverdc on Mar 18, 2017 at 3:11pm PDT Saving up your pocket money for a trip to Tower Records in Piccadilly Circus You spent an entire afternoon in there deciding which album you wanted the most – or which one everyone in year 9 French was listening to, as peer pressure dictated what you bought.  From the cover of a company report. #towerrecords #towerrecordshistory A post shared by @tower_records on Jan 4, 2014 at 11:40am PST  Just hanging around Carnaby Street with no real purpose Because that’s where all the skater kids – and that guy/girl you fancied – went to buy their trainers. Being ‘grown-up’ enough to go to Camden with your mates for the first tim

Hurrah! Spring finally looks like it has sprung in London. It’s not long now before we’re throwing the parka in the cupboard and getting straight down to our favourite beer garden. It all starts this weekend with the clocks going forward but, for some reason, this lifelong tradition still seems to bring out some strange behaviours. Here are some of the things you might see and hear in London the minute the clocks go forward an hour. Flip flops. Everywhere Because changing our clocks makes it hot. Apparently. Flickr/brand.on  People devouring two breakfasts This might happen, along with lots of chat about how the extra hour messes with the body’s clock. So much chat about ‘escaping for the weekend’  A few extra hours of daylight a week and before you know it we’re planning on turning our Instagram accounts into a travel blog. Constant references to ‘how light it is’ At 4pm. Then again at 5pm. And almost certainly with even bigger exasperation at 6pm.  A lot of moaning about the price of ice lollies ‘these days’ Normally by those already in flip flops.  i scream you scream we all scream for expensive hipster icecream — joevial (@josephngyen) 4 March 2017   A lot of tutting At the watch that hasn’t been changed. At the microwave that hasn’t been altered. At the person who ignores that the clocks changed on Sunday and will use it as an excuse to be late for work on Monday. Looking for a way to spend that extra hour? Check out 22 superb places to celebrate spring.

There was a time pre-Boxpark when Croydon wasn't hip, happening and trying to be cool. It was all bad pubs, cheap drinks and questionable nightclubs, a time where fake tan, polo shirts and passive aggressive bouncers reigned.  So if you used to go out in Croydon, there are some things you’ll know better than anyone. 1. You still don’t know why you spent so much of your youth being drunk and dancing to Sean Paul in Lloyds. It was literally just a Wetherspoon’s. Inside a cinema. 2. You've ordered a Soco and Lemonade at least once. If you know, you know.   A photo posted by kayley moore (@moorekayley) on May 28, 2016 at 9:22am PDT   3. You and your friends have been asked to leave The George more times than you care to remember. Somehow you were always allowed back in the week, no matter how outrageous your behaviour. 4. You spent every Friday night between the ages of 17 and 20 listening to the same garage album on loop in Yates. But you were too pissed on Barcardi Breezers or trying to chirpse Darren from JD Sports Whitgift Centre to care.    5. You remember when Reflex was an actual place that you’d go. The bloke with the iPod shuffle and speakers used to dress up like an old school headmaster. Because that wasn’t creepy. 6. You used to spend all of our Saturday job wage packet in The Goose. You bought £5 bottles of really terrible rosé wine and 'Croydon Jaegerbombs'. 7. You almost certainly did something mildly sexual in the foam party at Walkabout. And if you didn’t,

If you're a new resident to SW16, it’s worth noting that it wasn’t always fancy coffee shops, craft fairs in pubs and yummy mummies on the common. For many of us, it was the cornerstone of our childhoods. Here are just some of the things we'll have fond memories of.  Having a Megabowl party... ...with your whole class there because it was your tenth birthday and that was basically being an adult and a really big deal.      Flickr/ dusashenka     Snogging on Barcombe Avenue next to that Megabowl as a teenager... ...in the car of the mum of the boy you fancied, mainly because he could drive. Making a regular beeline to the best Woolworths in the world... ...and the biggest Woolworths for like, five miles. You still hold the memory of trying to cheat the pic’n’mix scales close to your heart. Going to Dr Doolittle’s on Streatham Hill to stare at pets you could never have...  ...because your mum was a bit skint and it was way cheaper than going to the zoo.     flickr/ Jason_Cobb     Living near London's largest ice rink... ...but never being allowed to go because it was too dangerous/you were too little/that thing happened with the blade to that kid in Year 2. Dreaming of getting a Saturday job in Sainsbury’s by the Common... ...because everyone remotely fit worked in there. It was a hotbed of teenage talent. Getting caught smoking in The Rookery garden Smoking and other activities I can't divulge. Easy access to Calpol at all times of night thanks to Westburys The dream of a

The work Christmas party may or may not be highlight of everyone’s December. Although it's an excuse to drink heavily with people you spend 12 months of the year slagging off to your friends and family, these nine things are bound to happen. 1. You'll immediately book annual leave for the day after the party, while moaning that it's always mid-week.   2. You'll moan some more about how tight they were with the free booze last year. 3. You'll arrive at work on the day of the party and ascertain how early you can start drinking at your desk. via GIPHY   4. You'll check the journey to and from the venue 12 times. Sober you is looking after drunk you. 5. You'll get ready and head off for awkward pre-drinks with members of your team you refuse to socialise with normally. You'll try not to get drunk. And fail.   6. You'll enter one of two embarrassing situations. This could be dancing like no-one's watching or entering into a terribly timed conversation with a member of senior management about ‘how good things could be in the office if….’ via GIPHY   7. You'll instantly forget what TfL's journey planner suggested and fall into a taxi. 8. You'll wake up still dressed as a Christmas decoration with a head that screams ‘cheap wine hurts’. 9. You'll blame your hangover on the lack of canapés.  Check out five tactics to help you survive the work Christmas party.

A non-Londoner once told me they were jealous of me living here, being single and having a whole city of talent and opportunity to explore before settling down. Ha. Try a stint of refreshing Happn to see if the fit bloke on the bus is single, and crying every time another 'romantic break for two' offer pings into your inbox. But that's not all: here are 11 more things you have to deal with when you're a singleton in London.  1. Being asked if you pulled at the weekend, most Monday mornings. No. I quite happily don’t go out ‘on the pull’ every spare moment I have, as it goes. I have other hobbies (Googles ‘evening classes’.) 2. Getting Tinder Terror on the Central line. Why do I know you? Did we work together once? Should I say hi? Oh no. You sent me a smutty message last week. Gotcha.     A photo posted by Rad.co (@rad) on Sep 7, 2016 at 9:05am PDT   3. Speaking of Tinder - Tinder Tuesdays. Why does nobody in this damn city want to go on dates at the weekend like in the olden days? 4. Having some of the best bars in town ruined by some of the worst dates. I can't even look at the BFI bar without thinking about ‘Rucksack Dan’. Bad night.  5. Feeling like Bridget Jones every time you walk through Borough Market. Sings ‘All By Myself’ to self, while walking.   A photo posted by Bridget Jones's Baby (@bridgetjonesbaby) on Oct 31, 2016 at 10:54am PDT   6. Comparing your love life to your colleagues who are much older than you. Your rational brain knows they have year

It’s happened. Croydon is set to become south London’s new Peckham now that Boxpark has officially opened to the public. You can practically smell the word ‘trendset’ in the air as you walk out of East Croydon station. It’s an exciting time, but one that's been met with some trepidation from Croydoners. What happens to us now that the containers of cool have landed? What comes next? Well, for starters… Croydon boys will lose their tracksuits It will all be top-knots, beards and All Saints leather jackets before Christmas. Sorry JD Sports, it’s the beginning of the end. Brunching will become a real thing  No more greasy spoons for us. The Breakfast Club is coming to town and we’ll be queuing up for late-morning dates with the girls quicker than you can say ‘eggs benedict’.   A photo posted by Matthew James (@zevenn) on Jun 27, 2014 at 10:29am PDT   We’ll stop mourning the loss of Tiger Tiger Let’s be honest, it’s been a terrible year in light of the news that our childhood haunt has closed its doors. But now we’ll be squiffing craft beers in a bottle shop and will forget student night Thursdays ever existed. We’ll actually venture away from our local If there’s one thing a Croydoner is good at, it’s having a local pub. For at least three weeks after opening, we might start drinking somewhere else. Maybe. Just maybe.   A photo posted by Alanna Aylen (@alannaaylen) on Jul 6, 2015 at 10:03am PDT   Tinder dates will go up a notch So long stilted chats with strangers