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VERSION:2.1
N:The Pawleyne Arms
FN:The Pawleyne Arms
TEL;WORK;VOICE:020 8676 9952
ADR;WORK:;;156 High St, Penge;SE20 7EU
URL:
NOTE:What's in a name? Well, lots, actually. Take Penge, shoehorned onto the same train line as the equally ridiculous (if further away) Leatherhead and Dorking. Penge. Roll it around the tongue for a bit, try to conjure up pleasant associations with it. Doesn't work, does it? It always has a whiff of the absurd, of maladjusted and tubeless Southeast London chav. Then throw the equally inexplicable Pawleyne into the mix, and picture a battered green pub with frosted windows at the end of the 176 bus route, parked at the crossroads of the bleak, post-apocalyptic town centre, all empty pizza parlours, track-suited loons, door shops (yes!) and misplaced apostrophes. It was the review I'd been dreading, but armed with a brand new toilet seat and the foolish optimism of a West Ham victory over Man Utd, I walked in. And... and... and... Short of the plasma screens and the gazebo in the concrete garden, I don't think a lot has changed in here over the years. At the front is the pool room and at the back is the sitting area, with plenty of tables arrayed over one of those stunning pub carpets that just don't get made anymore. The barmaids were cheerful and attentive, before their metamorphosis into an improbably multi-tasking cellarman that looked like he had walked out of a Dickens novel. One real ale on tap, otherwise all the usual nonsense, but the real pull here, the absolute crucial element of the place, is the atmosphere. The straightforward, down-to-earth boozerness of the place is amply reflected in the clientele, who were easy going, friendly and cheerful, seeming to come from all parts of Penge's diverse community and happy to leave whatever judgements they may have at the doorstep. This is it, my Damascene moment: the Pawleyene Arms, previously an object of ridicule as I passed it on the bus, is now the centre of the universe. All roads lead to Penge. You have been warned.
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